The Gilbert Secret
by Jyuoa
Summary: AU. What if the Gilberts siblings were vampires and the Salvatores were human? How would this change the story? Here's my take of what would happen if it were reversed. I don't own the Vampire Diaries or its characters.
1. The New Normal

Elena Gilbert looked out the window at the sun. It looked so different now, considering so much had changed in the past four months. "Elena? You're going to be late for school."

"Coming!" Elena got her bag and headed downstairs. After the past few months, not only had she and Jeremy lost their parents, but there were changes in them as well. "Do you have your ring?" She asked Jeremy.

He held up his hand to indicate he had it. "What about you? Your necklace?"

"I never take it off." Elena pointed out. The small dark blue stone was attached to a small chain.

"Have a good day, you two." Jenna called as they left the house.

At the Boarding House, Stefan was passing through the hall. "You're actually going to go to this new school?"

"Well, I have to finish school before we leave town." Stefan pointed out. "You've already graduated, but I can't put my life on hold because of something that happened five years ago."

"Have a nice day, little brother." Damon said.

The Gilbert siblings arrived at school. A couple months after their parents died, they had gone through the journals. One night, they were visiting the grave when they were attacked. The next thing they knew, they were forced into transitioning.

One night when Elena was visiting Bonnie, her Grandmother figured it out. She gave them their daylight jewelry, so that they could continue to keep their becoming vampires a secret. No one at school knew, not even Bonnie.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bonnie asked as they walked down the hall.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Elena told her.

"Elena!" Caroline ran over. "How are you? Are you okay? Is she okay?"

"Care, I'm fine." Elena told her. "Just, a lot has been going on."

"I know." Caroline said. "I'm just glad we're still friends." She held up her wrist. She was wearing the friendship bracelet that Elena had given to her. She had also given one to Bonnie.

"There's Matt." Elena noticed. He turned to look at her, then looked away briefly. She felt guilty, but it was better this way. She broke up with him after her parents died, but also to protect him from herself.

"It's okay. He's probably just not over you yet." Bonnie reassured her.

"Yeah, I didn't want to break up with him, but it's for the best." Elena said. "Besides, there's just too many changes in my life right now."

Outside, Jeremy was talking with Vicki and Tyler. "Look, we can't hang out anymore." Jeremy told her.

"Why not? I thought you liked having a good time."

"That was before I lost my parents. Things are different now." Jeremy told her.

"Look, man. I know you're going through a hard time, but that's no reason to act like a dick." Tyler told him.

"Like you're one to talk." Jeremy pointed out. "I'll see you around."

"Hey, check it out." Bonnie said. Elena looked her way. There was a new guy standing over by the lockers.

"So what?"

"So, you should totally check him out."

"Bonnie, I can't. Not now. It's too soon." Elena told her.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Jeremy asked. Elena nodded. The two headed into a corner where no one would here them. "I hate this. I had to break up with Vicki."

"Why didn't you just give her vervain?" Elena asked.

"Because she always takes her jewelry off when she goes to bed." Jeremy pointed out. "At least our other friends will be protected."

"Just be careful around her, Jer. We're still pretty new at this and I don't know if our compulsion's strong enough." Elena told him. They walked out into the hallway and Elena bumped into the new guy. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay." Stefan told her. Then the bell rang. "We should probably get to class."

"Uh, right." Elena said.

After school, Elena stopped by the cemetery. There, she got out her diary and started writing in her diary. A few feet away, Stefan was doing the same. It wasn't until they got up to go that they both crashed into each other again. They practically fell down the hill.

"Oh, god." Elena said, rubbing her arm.

"Sorry about that." Stefan said. That's when they noticed each other. "Hey. We've got to stop meeting like this."

"I know. Where you visiting?" Elena asked.

"Yeah. I have family here."

"So do I." Elena admitted. They both looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry." They said at the same time. Then they both laughed.

"I'm Elena."

"Stefan."

"I know. We have the same history class." Elena pointed out.

"And English." Stefan added.

"Are you okay? That fall was kinda nasty." Elena said. Stefan looked at his leg. It was bleeding.

"Oh, man." Elena turned away from him. He noticed. "Are you okay?"

"You need to get out of here." Elena told him. She could feel herself changing.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Stefan asked. When he looked up, she was gone.

At home, Elena ran up to her room. "Oh, my God."

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"I almost changed in front of the new guy." Elena told him. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Why don't you give him vervain?" Jeremy asked.

"It's a little too soon for that." Elena said. "And besides, the best thing is if I try to avoid him for a while."


	2. Party Accident

**A/N: Sorry about the slow update, guys! Been busy with school. Anyway, here's chapter 2. I'll try to update faster next time. I do not own TVD!**

Back at the Boarding House, Stefan went up to his room. He couldn't help but notice something off about Elena. "So, how was your first day?" Stefan groaned.

"Not now, Damon."

"What, trouble in paradise already?"

"It's that girl, Elena." Stefan told him. "There was something off about her."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But for now, I'm keeping it low-profile." Stefan walked out of the room.

At the Grill, Elena was with her friends. "So, you going tonight?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know." Elena said. "I just don't think it's a good idea."

"Oh, come on, Elena." Bonnie said. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but it'd be more fun with you there."

"Okay. Maybe for a few hours." Elena said. She got up and almost bumped into Matt. "Hey."

"Hey." Matt said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Elena told him. "Anyway, I should be asking you that. I wanted to apologize for…"

"It's okay. I understand. You need some time to be alone."

"Thanks." Elena told him. Just as she was leaving, she passed Stefan.

"Elena?"

"Stefan?" She turned around. "What are you doing here?"

"Just trying to kill time." He told her. "What about you?"

"Hanging out with some friends." Elena explained. "There's a party tonight. You wanna come?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

As Elena walked away, she wondered why she asked that. Back in the Grill, Tyler was talking with Matt.

"I'm telling you, something's up with that Gilbert kid." Tyler was saying.

"Let it go, Ty." Matt said.

"Seriously, they've both lost their parents a few months ago." Caroline pointed out.

"And they're going through some difficult changes." Bonnie told them.

"You weren't there when he dumped Vicki." Tyler said.

"Dude, please. You've been after her for almost a year." Matt pointed out. "I mean, you have an opportunity and all."

"I'm not playing the rebound guy." Tyler protested.

"Sorry to interrupt, but maybe you should let her make that decision." The group looked up. Stefan had shown up.

"Hey." Caroline said.

"You're that new guy, aren't you?" Tyler asked. "Stefan, right?"

"Yeah." The group introduced themselves and invited him to sit with them.

"So, what's up with Elena? She always seems so distant." Stefan asked.

"Well, she and her brother lost their parents not too long ago." Caroline explained. "It's why she's been so gloomy to hang around lately."

"Caroline!" Matt and Bonnie yelled.

"What? It's the truth."

"Forget it, man. Caroline's a little harsh sometimes." Tyler told him.

"At least I'm not a total jerk, Tyler." Caroline said.

"Is it always like this?" Stefan asked.

"Sometimes." Matt said. Tyler and Caroline were still arguing. Bonnie was trying to intervene.

"I think I'll go now. It's been nice talking with you guys." Stefan got up and left.

That night, everyone was at the back to school party. "Do we have to be here?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, we can't hide forever, Jer." Elena pointed out. "Just be careful."

"I know. I know." He told her. He walked away from her.

Bonnie walked over to her. "Man, this whole psychic thing my Grams was going on about is weird."

"You're telling me." Elena said. She couldn't tell Bonnie about anything just yet.

"Well, it's strange. I predicted something the other day and it happened." Bonnie told her. "It's probably just a coincidence."

"Probably." Elena admitted.

"I know you're a little upset, but at least try to have a good time." Bonnie grabbed her hand and a shiver passed through her.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked. She knew that she'd sensed it, though.

"Yeah. I think I'll leave you with him for a while." Bonnie told her. As she walked away, Elena noticed someone behind her.

"Stefan?"

"Hey."

"I can't believe this." Caroline said. She watched the two of them. Bonnie came over to her. "He ditched me for her."

"Caroline, we should get you out of here." Bonnie told her. She could tell her friend was drunk.

"Okay."

In the woods, Tyler was with Vicki. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Vicki told him. "I guess I don't blame him. Who would want to stay with a druggie like me?"

"Vicki, it's not about that." Tyler told her. "You tend to be a little unstable."

"I know. Maybe I'm better off solo for a while." Vicki told him.

"Do you want me to leave?" Tyler asked.

"No." Vicki told him.

"Is everything okay?" Jeremy asked, showing up.

"She's coping with the break-up." Tyler told him.

"I just don't want to do something that will end up hurting both of us." Jeremy admitted.

"What do you care?" Vicki asked. "Sorry, that was harsh."

"No, it was the truth."

"I'll let you guys talk it out." Tyler said, leaving them alone in the woods.

At the party, Elena was talking with Stefan. "Your friends seem concerned about you and your brother. What happened?" He asked.

"My parents car went off a bridge." Elena told him. "I was there, too, but I survived. Then my brother and I ran into a problem and it's hard to cope with."

"I know what it's like. My brother and I lost our parents a long time ago." Stefan told her. "It'll get better, I promise."

"Thanks. I'm glad you're here." Elena told him. "Sorry I took off earlier."

"Hey, I get it. Girls can't stand the sight of blood." Stefan said.

"Yeah." Elena noticed something off. "I'm sorry, could you give me a minute?"

In the woods, Vicki and Jeremy were walking back to the party. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"It's my arm." Vicki told him. She was holding it with her other hand. She looked like she was in pain. Jeremy looked at it. Her arm had a cut on it and it was still bleeding. Jeremy turned around. "Help me out with this."

"Get out of here." Jeremy told her. "You need to leave."

"What?" Vicki said. "Why?" She turned him around and gasped.

Elena heard a scream and ran toward the woods. She found Vicki unconscious. Most likely passed out from shock. Jeremy was next to her. "Jeremy, what happened?"

"I'm sorry." Was all that he said.

"Oh, Jeremy." Elena held onto him. "I know it's tough, but we need to try and control it."

"What do you want us to do? Rob a blood bank?" Jeremy asked.

"Please, we've got enough of the stuff…" Even though she had changed, she couldn't bring herself to say the word blood. "From hunting stored to last a long time."

"I know." Jeremy said. "What'll we do about her?"

"Go back to the party and get help. I'll stay with her." Elena told him. Jeremy speed out of the woods. Elena watched over Vicki as she woke up.

"Elena, your brother…" She was having trouble speaking.

"It's okay." Elena told her. She looked her directly in the eyes. "You will forget everything that happened tonight. You tripped and fell in the woods."

Vicki blinked and looked around. "What happened?"

"You're going to be okay." Elena told her. Jeremy showed up with Matt, Tyler, and Stefan.

"Is she alright?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, she just tripped, that's all." Elena said. "I think she may have hit her head, though."

"I'll call the hospital." Stefan offered.

"Good idea." Jeremy said.

After Vicki had been taken to the hospital, everyone had gone home. "Hey, bro." Stefan heard as he entered the house. "What's with the long look?"

"Someone passed out and was hospitalized tonight." Stefan told him. "She'll probably be okay, but I'm still worried."

"You don't think that…" Damon began. Stefan met his eyes with silence. They came to a silent understanding.

"No, that can't be. Not now, anyway." Stefan said.

Back at the Gilbert household, Elena was with Jeremy. "I feel so awful about what happened to her." He said.

"Don't be." Elena said.

"No, don't you see, I caused this, Elena." Jeremy told her. "This is why I broke up with her." Elena embraced him.

"It'll be okay." Elena told him. "She won't remember anything, Matt's with her now, and everyone will just think she was drunk."

"Everything okay up here?" Aunt Jenna asked.

"Yeah, everything's going to be fine, Aunt Jenna." Elena said. When she was gone, Jeremy spoke up.

"You still miss them, don't you?" Jeremy said. "I mean, I've seen you writing in your diary by the cemetery."

"I just wish they were here to help." Elena said. "But with this town's history, no one can know about us."

"What about that new guy?" Jeremy asked. Elena looked up and thought about Stefan. He was the only one who understood where she came from. Maybe they could be friends.

"I don't know." Elena told her brother. "I hope we could be friends, though." Jeremy fell back on his bed. "Goodnight, Jeremy."

"Goodnight, Lena." She walked out of Jeremy's room and went into hers. She started writing.

Dear Diary,

I'm starting to feel a little better about things now. But we still need to be careful. Who knows who else knows the dark secrets of this town?


	3. We Are Just Friends

The next morning, Elena woke up. For some reason, she felt happier than before. Almost like it was before she became a vampire. She walked out of her room.

"Do I look adult? As in respectfully parental?" Jenna asked her.

"Depends where you're going."

"Jeremy's parent-teacher conference." Jenna explained. "Hair up or down?"

"I'd go up." Elena told her.

"You're feisty today." Jenna said.

"I feel good, which is rare. So I've decided to go with it." Elena explained. "Where is Jeremy?"

"He left early. Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse." Elena's expression fell. "There is no wood shop, is there?"

"No." Elena said. The incident from last night probably still had him feeling guilty.

Jeremy was at the hospital. "How is she?"

"She seems to be recovering fine." The nurse told him. He was relieved. If Elena hadn't given her blood to her, she would probably be doing worse. "Let her rest for now."

"Okay." Jeremy told her.

During school, Jeremy went to talk with Tyler. "Hey, Tyler. Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt. I needed to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry about what happened to Vicki. In a way, we were both responsible."

"Yeah." Tyler agreed. "It was stupid. Then again, I was kinda drunk when it all went down."

"Can we call a truce?" Jeremy asked. "Just until she's okay again. You're better off with her than I'll ever be."

"Don't give up on her, man." Tyler told him.

"I'm not giving up on her. I'm protecting her." Jeremy said. "I just can't be with her anymore."

At the other end of the school, Elena and Matt were talking about Vicki. "They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow."

"That's good news." Elena said, relieved. "Vicki's lucky that she's ok. Most people would have a concussion from that kind of fall."

"Yeah." Matt agreed. "Then again, she's always been lucky when it comes to danger."

"Does she know what happened?" Elena asked.

"I don't know." Matt told her. "She was asleep when I went to see her. So what's up with you and the new guy?"

"Matt, he's just a friend. That's all that we are and can be right now." Elena told him. "I don't want to end up hurting him."

" You know, I'm... I'm actually gonna go back to the hospital." Matt told her. "I want to be there when Vicki wakes up, get the real story about last night."

"Okay." Elena said. Matt left, leaving her alone.

Outside the Grill, the girls started talking. "Well, I was talking to grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom." Bonnie explained. "The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity." Elena shifted in her seat uncomfortably. If her friends learned the truth about her, who knew what would happen?

"Yeah, and then you poured grams another shot and she told you about the aliens." Caroline pointed out. "So then what?" She turned to Elena.

"So then nothing."

"You and Stefan talked all night?" Caroline started asking for details. "There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?"

"No. We didn't go there and we can't." Elena told her. "I've only known the guy for like a day." She got up.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked.

"I was going to lend Stefan my history book." Elena explained. "He hadn't had time to pick up his books yet."

At the hospital, Matt was sitting beside Vicki. She woke up. "Matt?"

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Matt asked.

"Better." Vicki told him.

"So, what happened in the woods? Do you remember?" Matt asked.

"I tripped while running in the woods." Vicki said. "I can't remember who I was running from, though." Jeremy came into the room.

" Hey. How do you feel?" Jeremy asked

"I'm OK." Vicki told him.

"I'm gonna go grab a coffee. Hey, Jer." Matt left the room. He knew they had issues to sort out.

"Why are you here?" Vicki asked.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay." Jeremy told her.

"Tyler can be such a control freak sometimes, but he's got a good heart." Vicki told him.

"He's really worried about you." Jeremy told her. "He really felt bad about it."

"So, we're okay, then?" Vicki asked.

"Even if we're not dating, Vicki, I can still be your friend." Jeremy pointed out. "I still care about you, but I just can't be with you. You deserve someone better."

"You really think there's someone else?" Vicki asked.

"Yeah. Besides, Tyler's into you." Jeremy pointed out.

"Thanks for visiting." Vicki told him.

"Anytime." Jeremy got up and left the room.

Meanwhile, Elena was at the Boarding House. She rang the bell and waited outside. "Stefan, are you there?" She called. The door opened, but it wasn't Stefan. "Uh, is Stefan home?"

"He should be back any minute." Damon told her. "You must be the girl my brother's been talking about. I'm Damon."

"I didn't know he had a brother." Elena said.

"Yeah, we don't exactly get along most of the time." Damon told her. "Why don't you come in and wait?" He turned around and headed back inside. Elena hesitated before stepping into the house.

"Wow. This place is like something out of a movie." Elena said, glancing at the living room.

"It belonged to our Uncle. He died a few months ago and left the place to us." Damon explained. "I see why my brother can't stop thinking about you. You're really beautiful." Elena blushed.

"He seems kinda distant sometimes." She told him.

"Well, a few months ago, he broke up with his girlfriend. She was a bit too clingy." Damon explained. "Though, between us, I don't think he really liked her that much. I know I didn't." Elena laughed.

"Was she that terrible?"

"Kinda." Damon told her. "He was so over her the minute he found out what she was really like. She was completely fake."

"Well, sometimes people hide things for a reason." Elena pointed out. "Like they're trying to protect someone they care about."

"I know. But she only cared about protecting herself." Damon told her. Elena felt self-conscious all of a sudden. Then the door opened and Stefan walked in. "Hey, Stefan."

"Elena. What are you doing here?" Stefan asked.

"I came to drop off that history book." Elena told him. "I know I should've called first, but…"

"It's fine." Stefan told her.

"You know, you can come over anytime." Damon told her.

"Thanks." Elena said. She could feel the tension in the room. "I really should be going now."

"Thanks." Stefan told her. "For helping around school."

"No problem." Elena said. "Damon, it was nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you, too, Elena." Damon told her. They shook hands and then she left.

"See you around, Stefan." She said on her way out.

"She seems nice." Damon commented. "Though she seems to be really nervous about something. Where did you find this girl?"

"She lost her parents a few months ago." Stefan told him. "Something like that can make a person self-conscious."

"Oh, right. Sometimes I forget how intimidating I can be."

"I swear, if you say anything to hurt her…"

"Will you relax? I'm not going to do anything." Damon said. "You really care about her, don't you?"

"She just really needs a friend right now." Stefan told him.

"That's how it always starts. But I can tell the signs, brother. You're falling for her."

"I've got homework." Stefan headed up to his room. But he couldn't hide the fact that his brother could be right.


	4. Afraid to Fall

"I'm just not sure I'm up to this." Elena was telling Jenna. "He has an ex, and besides, we can only be friends."

"At least he's one of the decent ones." Jenna said. "You should consider yourself lucky. Jeremy?"

"Huh? Sorry, wasn't paying attention."

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing really. Just thinking about Vicki." He told her. "I should go." He left the room.

That night, Elena and Bonnie were handing out flyers for the Night of the Comet event. "So, he never tried calling?"

"We never exchanged numbers, Bonnie." Elena pointed out. "Anyway, I'm not looking for a relationship."

"We never are, yet that's when it always seems to find us." Bonnie told her.

"He broke up because his last girlfriend was pretending to be something she wasn't." Elena explained. "I'm hiding something, too, but nobody can ever find out about it. Not even you, Bonnie."

"We all have our own embarrassing secrets, Elena." Bonnie pointed out.

"Yeah, but some are darker than others." Elena looked away, feeling guilty.

"All I'm saying is that maybe you should take a chance." Bonnie said. She reached out to touch her, but Elena pulled away. She didn't want her to know and she didn't know if her powers had started developing yet.

At the Grill, Jeremy noticed Vicki. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to figure out my new schedule here. They've got me back on beginner's work." Vicki explained.

"How are you feeling?"

"My neck hurts a little, but otherwise fine."

"I'm really sorry you got hurt." Jeremy said.

"You apologize too much."

"I still care about what happens to you."

"Thanks."

"So, you coming to watch the comet with everyone else?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, I was thinking about heading home, but suppose I could stay and watch for a while."

"Hey, Vicki." Tyler came over to them. "You feeling better?"

"A little, thanks."

"Are you alright, Jer? You look like you've seen a ghost." Tyler told him.

"Maybe it's been the stress over the past couple days." Jeremy said. "I'll meet you two outside."

"Hey, I got some candles." Caroline said, she passed out a few of them.

"Hey. How is she?" Elena asked as Matt touched his candle to hers.

"She's been better, but I think she should still take it easy." Matt said.

"Let me know how she is later." Elena said. She felt partly responsible since Jeremy caused the incident.

"You okay?" She turned around. It was Stefan.

"Just thinking of the other night." Elena told him.

"Wow, it's really an amazing sight, isn't it?" He asked. They were both looking up at the comet.

"It really is beautiful. Although Bonnie thinks it's a harbinger of evil." Elena said. She laughed.

"Well, everyone has different opinions. Personally, I think it's just as beautiful as a certain young girl." Stefan told her. He felt like he wanted to slap himself. He couldn't believe he just said that. "Sorry about Damon. He can be intimidating."

"You didn't tell me that you had a brother."

"Well, he's the only family I have left." Stefan told her. "Though he can be a little…"

"He told me that you broke up with someone?" Elena explained. "Because she was a total fake."

"What else did he say?"

"That's about it." Elena said.

"That was three years ago." Stefan told her.

"But it's easy to get hurt when you really care about someone." Elena told him. "Sometimes they pretend because they want to protect you."

"That doesn't make it any more right."

"That's why I can't do this." Elena explained. "You're always believing in doing the right thing and can't stand people who lie or turn out to be what they're not. Besides, it's too complicated. I'm glad I met you, Stefan. You're easy to talk to, but I can never be your girlfriend." She walked away from him.

Elsewhere, Vicki was outside when she ran across Damon. "Are you new around here?"

"How'd you know?" He asked.

"I've never seen you around town before." Vicki told him. "I'll see you around."

"Wait, I need to ask you something." Damon said.

"Why, are you a cop?" She asked. "Anyway, I have to get back to my shift."

"It won't take long, I promise."

Everyone was hanging out at the Grill when Jeremy came in. "Has anyone seen Vicki?" He asked.

"I thought she was with you." Tyler said.

"I thought she was with you." Jeremy told him.

"Wait, if she's not with either of us, then where is she?" Tyler asked. Everyone could hear the concern in his voice.

"Wasn't she outside a few minutes ago?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, but she left to get back to her shift." Jeremy explained.

"Didn't her shift end, like, ten minutes ago?" Caroline pointed out.

"She's right." Matt said.

"Guys, we need to do something about this." Tyler said.

"We better go out and try to find her."

"We'll check out back." Bonnie said. She, Caroline, and Tyler headed outside.

"I'll check the park." Matt said.

"We'll go with you." Elena told him. "Come on, Jer."

"You don't think she could've remembered, do you?"

"Impossible, she's not on vervain." Elena pointed out. "Think you can control it?"

"Of course. I feel responsible for this and so do you."

"What I wouldn't give to be human right now."

"We can deal with our misery later." Jeremy said. "Let's go."

As soon as the group got outside, they noticed Stefan. "Hey, new guy!" Matt called.

"Oh, hey."

"You haven't seen Vicki around, have you?"

"No, I haven't."

"She's missing. We can't find her anywhere." Jeremy explained.

"I'll try to help as much as I can."

"Thanks, man." Matt said. "Look, I know this thing with Elena is hard, but I'm still looking out for her. No matter how distant she is."

"Trust me, he would know." Jeremy told him. That's when he heard it.

"You just got out of the hospital recently?" He heard an unknown voice ask.

"Yes, and I really should be getting home." The second one he recognized. It was Vicki.

"You okay?" Stefan asked.

"Did anyone come to town with you?" Jeremy asked. Elena was watching the scene from outside the grill. She texted Jeremy to help with the cover. "It's Vicki. She's on the roof."

"I'll get her." Stefan said. It wasn't long before he made it up the stairs and opened the door to find them talking.

"Look, what happened the other night isn't your business."

"Well, it's important enough." Damon looked over and noticed Stefan. "Hey, brother."

"What is going on up here?"

"I'm just trying to find out about the other night." Damon said.

"Look, I really have to leave, and I've told you what happened like five times." Vicki pointed out. "Let me go."

"Look, miss, I'm not going to hurt you." Damon told her. "What happened?"

"I tripped and fell in the woods. That's all I know." Vicki said.

"Are you sure that's exactly what happened?"

"Yes, I'm kind of unstable sometimes." She said.

"Look." He said to Stefan.

"Why?"

"Look harder." He told him. Stefan looked directly at Vicki. Then he noticed something off.

"What?"

"You see it, too, don't you?"

"Okay, you guys are seriously weird." Vicki said.

"She doesn't know what happened because she can't remember." Damon concluded.

"What are you saying, Damon?"

"She either got amnesia when she fell or all those stupid stories are true." Damon said. "Everything that was written down in our ancestors' journals." Vicki wasn't even paying attention to them. She headed back over to the door.

"It's true she could've gotten amnesia when she fell and hit her head. Or she could've been compelled."

"You really start thinking about that now?" Stefan asked. "Let her go, Damon. You don't have to intimidate everyone you want to question about this supernatural crap."

"Fine, I'll try it your way next time."

Stefan walked over where to Vicki was standing. "Hey, you okay?"

"A little shaken, but fine. Was he really your brother?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Stefan said. "Hopefully he won't bother you again." They headed back into the Grill, where the others except for Elena were waiting.

"Vicki, are you okay?" Matt asked. She nodded. A few minutes later, he turned to Stefan. "She told me you helped her up there."

"Yeah, a cop was asking questions and making her uncomfortable, so I stepped in."

"Thank you for helping her." Matt told him.

"Ugh, it's just so much drama. Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?" Caroline was saying.

"Whatever." Bonnie said.

"Hey, has anyone seen Elena?" Stefan asked.

"I think she went home." Bonnie told her. "Here, this is her cell number. We all call to check in on her occasionally."

"Thanks." She handed him Elena's number. "I hope she's alright."

"These kind of strange things shake her up." Bonnie explained. "It's been this way ever since she lost her parents."

"It'd shake up any normal person if they'd lost their parents." Caroline said.

At home, Elena heard a sound come from Jeremy's room. "Jeremy, you back already?"

"No, it's me." Jenna said.

"What are you doing in here?" Elena asked.

"Just checking to make sure your brother hasn't been doing drugs again." Jenna explained. "It would explain his sudden mood swings." After a few minutes, she sighed. "Guess I was wrong this time."

"You okay?" Elena asked. Her aunt seemed kind of nervous and upset about something.

"Am I a good parent?"

"Aunt Jenna, of course you are." Elena said. "Without you, we wouldn't know what we'd do."

"I know, I just feel like I've been messing up lately." Jenna told her. "I know that I can't replace your mother and I feel like I'll never be able to do it the way she did. I don't know what I'm going to do about him."

"It's okay. I know my brother better than anyone." Elena told her. "Besides, you're just scared about all this. It's completely normal for all of us." Then she realized that it was true. She was pushing Stefan away because she was afraid of getting into a relationship. "There's something I need to do." She got up. "Will you be okay?"

At the Grill, Jeremy noticed Vicki. Tyler came over to them. "Hey, my brother told me that you guys helped look for me."

"It was all Matt's idea." Tyler told her.

"Thanks, both of you." Vicki told them. Jeremy walked away from them, knowing she'd be safer with Tyler.

"Want me to take you home?" He heard her ask. He didn't stay to hear her response.

"Yeah, I've had enough weirdness for one night."

Outside the Boardinghouse, Stefan met Elena. "Hey."

"Hey." Elena said.

"You coming in?"

"The comet's out here, remember?" She pointed out. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. Especially after…"

"It's okay. I'm glad you're here. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot." Stefan told her.

"Thing is, I was going to write in my diary. I've been writing in it a lot lately, especially since my parents died." Elena explained. "But, then I realized that I'd better come talk to you instead."

"What would you have written if you hadn't come here?" Stefan asked.

"I would've written: Dear diary, today I've decided not to take risks. It isn't the right time, especially with all these new changes happening around me." Elena told him. "But, I've realized that they're just excuses and that I'm scared of my friends rejecting me, of losing everyone, and mostly, I'm scared of falling again. I'm not entirely the same Elena they know anymore and I'm afraid they'll never accept the new me."

"Look, I know that you don't like getting too close with others, but I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable around me." Stefan said. "I really like you, Elena and if you need someone to talk to, I'll always be your friend." She looked at him, surprised that he would be willing to be there for her.

"Thanks." She said. He leaned over and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. She blushed, not knowing why she felt the way she did about him.

"You okay?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Elena said, actually meaning it this time. "I'll call you tomorrow." As she walked away, she realized that she felt more human around him than everyone else. And she knew it meant she was falling for him.

**A/N: Sorry if the ending's a little corny. I had a lot of trouble writing that last part. Hopefully I'll be able to update faster next time. Please remember to review.**


	5. Football Tryouts

uys are taking it slow and all, but…" Bonnie began as she and Elena walked toward the school.

"Hey, I don't want to just rush into things, okay?" Elena pointed out. "You have no idea what it's like for your entire world to just change overnight."

"Why don't you play the field?"

"Really, Bonnie?"

"Hey, Elena." Bonnie reached out to grab her arm. Elena stiffened. "Whoa, you feeling okay?"

"I feel fine. It's just a little cold out here." Elena told her.

"I can't shake this bad feeling now."

"Does this have something to do with you're Grams stories?" Elena asked.

"No, I'm just trying to be a good friend. I'm just a little worried about you." Elena knew that all too well. Bonnie had been concerned about her ever since her parents death. Even if she didn't know her secret yet, she was still trying to support her.

"You don't need to be. No matter what happens, I'm still me." Elena told her. "Besides, I'm starting to feel like everything is starting to go back to normal. I think it might have to do with Stefan."

"Hey." Jeremy turned and saw Vicki. "I got two concert tickets."

"I'm sure you two will have fun together." Jeremy told her.

"No, Jer, I want you to come with me." Vicki told him, as if he was oblivious.

"Look, Vicki, you know it's over between us." Jeremy pointed out. "Everyone knows, so why don't you go with you're boyfriend?"

"Well, I wanted to give this friendship thing a try." Vicki said.

"I don't mean to offend you, but are you high right now?" Jeremy asked. Vicki looked shocked at him. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."

"Of course not." Vicki replied as she walked away.

"Seriously, I can't go out with you, Vicki." Jeremy said. "I would, but I can't."

Stefan came over to the girls. "Hey, Elena. Bonnie."

"Hey, I'm going to find Caroline." Bonnie said. "She hasn't answered all morning. I'll see you two later."

"Bonnie…" Elena began, then she shook her head, realizing it'd probably be better to let her go.

"What was that all about?" Stefan asked.

"I think she was trying to get away from me." Elena admitted. "She's my best friend, but I think she's scared of what's going on with me. It has nothing to do with you, I swear."

"So what's up with those two? Are they dating or not?" Tyler asked.

"They're just friends." Matt said.

"Really? They sure seem close."

"Elena said she wasn't looking for a boyfriend right now." Matt told him.

"I've got it. The three of us should head out together." Elena said. She wasn't sure it would be a good idea to be around the house. "Maybe then she'll stop being so worried about me."

"Look, they are just friends and I trust Elena." Matt told him.

"Yeah, and I think that…" Tyler gasped as the football went flying out of his hand. He looked at his hand. He didn't even realize he'd thrown it until now. "Aw, man!"

"Look out!" Elena said. Stefan turned around only to be hit by the football in the stomach. Tyler and Matt began to run over.

"Sorry about that, man."

Stefan got up and threw it back to them. The guys stared at him in shock. Elena looked impressed. "You play football?"

"Used to be on the team back at my old school." He told her.

"Why don't you try out here?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. They don't seem like they'd want me around here."

"What happened was an accident." Elena said. "Tyler wouldn't do that on purpose. And while Matt still hasn't gotten over things, he's not totally heartless. What better way to fit in than joining the team?"

"Coming from the girl who writes in the cemetery …"

"You were there, too, loner guy." She pointed out. "Besides, I am…or was on the cheerleading squad. I'll have to see when that audition was again. I've been distracted lately."

"Guess I could give it a try." Stefan said, smiling.

"You know, this is the first time I think I've seen you smile." Elena told him.

"It's kind of hard not to around you." He said. After school was over, they both headed to the field. "Easy, man!" Matt said.

"Sorry. I'm just a little out of it today." Tyler told him.

"Hey, you made it." Bonnie said.

"Well, of course. I can't just put my life on hold." Elena told her. "Hopefully I'll get better at it this time around. By the way, can you meet us at the Grill tonight?"

"Us?"

"You, me, and Stefan." Elena said. "Look, I know that I've been distant and it's a good way for all of us to spend time together."

"I don't know, Elena." Bonnie said.

"Come on, Bonnie. We're best friends." Elena pointed out.

"Alright, but I'm still concerned about you."

"Thanks." Elena said. She turned and heard the coach of the team arguing with Stefan.

"I'm sorry, football tryouts were last spring."

"I wasn't here then, sir."

"Give me a minute." Elena told her. She walked over to them. Bonnie watched her. A few minutes later, she walked back over to Bonnie.

"What did you say to make him change his mind?" Bonnie asked.

"Just told him about this morning, that's all." Elena told her. She didn't want to add the fact she may have compelled him by accident.

"Anyway, where's Caroline?"

"I have no idea. She'd never miss practice." Elena said. Suddenly, she noticed her with a guy who looked kind of familiar. She got out of the car and rushed over to the girls.

"So that's the guy she must've been talking with." Bonnie said. "She mentioned one of her mom's friends."

"That's Damon. He's Stefan's brother." Elena told her.

"Hey, girls." Caroline said. "Sorry I'm late. I was being questioned again." Elena hoped that nobody saw her tense up. "Okay, let's get started, shall we?" She lead them through the routine. Elena was keeping up pretty well for a change. "Wow, you've been practicing."

"I've had some free time." Elena told her.

The guys were running football drills. "I hate to say it, but he's got skills." Matt said.

"I think he needs a buddy pass." Tyler said.

"Really?" Matt said. "You don't get to walk on the field and act like you own the place after 5 minutes."

"Dude, I'm kidding, okay?" Tyler said. "Well, mostly."

"Guess we have new receiver." Matt told him. They met with Stefan on the field.

"Welcome to the team, buddy." Tyler told him.

"Thanks."

"Hey. Great job out there." Matt said.

"It's no big deal." They headed inside.

At the Boarding House, Stefan was surprised to find Damon waiting for him. "Hey, how'd tryouts go?"

"I made the team." He told him. "Why are you here so early?"

"I wanted to apologize for the other day." Damon told him. "I didn't know she was unstable. I thought that she would've recovered more quickly than she did."

"You know, you can drop this whole good cop, bad cop thing anytime, right?" Stefan pointed out.

"I noticed you're girlfriend during practice today." Damon told him. "She's pretty good at it." Stefan was looking at him, wondering when he'd been there. As if he'd read his thoughts, he added, "I had to drop that Caroline girl off. She overslept and the shrieff asked me to because she was busy at work."

At the Grill, the girls were talking. "It was so weird. Last night while I was watching Supernatural, I've started predicting commercials."

"They're all kinda predictable, Bonnie." Elena pointed out. She realized that her powers were starting to come in fully.

"I've been obsessed with numbers. I don't understand what it means." Bonnie told her.

"Maybe you should talk to your Grams." Elena suggested.

"She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch." Bonnie pointed out. "I don't want to be a witch." Elena felt bad for her. She knew how it felt. "Do you want to be a witch?" Bonnie asked her.

"I don't want to be a witch." Elena said. I don't want to be a vampire, either, she thought to herself.

"Hey." Stefan arrived to meet with them.

"Hey. How'd practice go?" Elena asked.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right." He told her.

"Bonnie, you should have seen what happened." Elena said.

"I heard." Bonnie told her. She felt nervous for some reason.

Elena had an idea that would hopefully break the tension. "Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?"

"Well, my parents are divorced. No mom. Live with my dad." She admitted.

"I meant the witch thing." Elena told her.

"I don't know, it seems more like a family issue." Bonnie said. "My Grams says that we're descended from a line of witches."

"Really?" Stefan asked. "I heard about a group of witches that came into town during the Civil War."

"My family came by way of Salem." Bonnie explained.

"Now that's cool."

"You really think so?" Bonnie asked.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity." Stefan said. When they were staring at him, he explained, "We both studied about the supernatural at home."

"Surprisingly, that information's accurate." Bonnie said. Elena was still nervous. She wondered if they were also part of the founder's council.

"Hi, guys!" Everyone looked up in shock as they were joined by Caroline and Damon. "I heard you guys were getting together and thought you forgot about me."

"How could we forget about you, Caroline?" Elena asked.

"Clearly she's got low self-esteem. Her mother's concerned about it." Damon whispered to the others.

"I heard that, jerk!" Caroline said.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked.

"Just figured I'd stop by." For some reason, Elena felt even more nervous now that Damon was around.

"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team." Caroline started talking. "Elena told me how good you were."

"He's one of the best." Damon explained. "At his old school, he was very committed to football. Then again, he also had everyone's support. A good team supports each other, you know?"

CAROLINE: Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines.

"Elena's improved a lot since last year." Caroline went on. "Despite not going to cheer camp with the rest of us, you've almost nailed today's routine.

"Well, I've been teaching her." Bonnie told her. "I felt bad about going without her, so I figured I'd at least get her caught up."

"Maybe we'll end up co-captains!" Caroline said.

"Sounds like you're quite the cheerleader." Damon said. "But I've also noticed some hesitation."

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died." Caroline explained. "She's still a little shaken by it sometimes, but she doesn't let it stop her from living." If she only knew the irony, Elena thought.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose your parents." Damon told her. "Stefan and I lost ours, too. That's how I became his guardian."

"We don't need to talk about this now, Damon." Stefan said, trying to change the subject. Elena leaned back into her chair and sighed. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.


	6. Suspicions and an Attack

Meanwhile, at the opposite side of the grill, the guys were hanging out. "Guys, I have to get back to work." Vicki told them. "I'll see you later."

"Okay."

"She's my sister and I know how she feels about you." Matt was telling Jeremy. "But maybe you should go easy on her, you know?"

"It's best to just if I just give her some time. It won't work between us." Jeremy told him. Tyler sat next to him. "Even if it did, she's kinda unstable, no offense."

"Yeah, but she seemed happier around you." Tyler said. "Call me crazy all you want, but it doesn't feel right going out with her."

"Look, she deserves someone who will make her happy. Someone who won't hurt her." Jeremy explained.

"Look man, I'm going to be straight up. She gets the message, she's just not over you." Tyler told him. Jeremy didn't say anything, just got up and left.

Back at Elena's table, things were kinda awkward. "So, you two are dating now?" Damon asked. Elena blushed.

"No, we're just friends." She told him. "We agreed to take things slow."

"I haven't seen my brother this happy in a while, Elena."

"So, what happened with his ex?" Elena asked. She glanced around the table. Bonnie was reading and Caroline was busy talking with Stefan.

"She went missing. Left without a single word." Damon explained. "But that was about three years ago, maybe less."

"What was she like?" Elena asked. "I mean, I know she wasn't very nice, but…"

"She was very beautiful, but had this really bad mean streak. She could be really seductive when she wanted to be."

"So you dated her, too." Elena realized.

"Wow, beautiful and smart." Damon said. "You might want to ask Stefan about other details, though." Then he added, "So, were you thinking of quitting the squad before?"

"How did you know that?"

"Well, after we lost our parents, it wasn't easy." He told her. "I almost left college to help my brother out."

"He never talks about it much." Elena said. "But I realized how important it was for me to live. My parents wouldn't have wanted me to give it up just because they're…gone."

"That's an interesting outlook on life."

"Well, when you're faced with loss, you do your best to work it out."

"That's true, though they say it's a thin line between life and death." Elena stared at him.

"Sorry I asked about…"

"It's fine. Who cares if she's been missing without a call in a few years?"

"Matt tries, but he's just having a really hard time. You have to understand that they were each other's first. You know, like, from the sandbox." Caroline said.

"That's a beautiful necklace you're wearing." Stefan told her.

"It was a gift from Elena." Caroline explained. "Before the accident."

"What's that on your wrist?" He asked her. He had noticed Bonnie wearing a similar bracelet.

"Oh, yeah. She also made this friendship bracelet." Caroline told him. She looked a little sad.

"You okay?"

"Sometimes I miss the old Elena." Caroline told him. "It's hard to see her act like she's okay with things sometimes."

"Sometimes it's the only way people can cope with loss." Damon told her.

"And by people he means himself." Stefan said.

"Right, because I spend most of my time brooding and writing in my journal."

"Damon!"

"What? They have a right to know."

"And it just got awkward." Bonnie said.

"Come on, let's go." Elena said. The girls headed home. Upstairs in her room, Elena glanced over at the table. She opened one of the drawers and found the extra set of bracelets she'd made in case there weren't enough. She sighed. It was hard for her to be around them, especially if they weren't protected.

The next day, Elena met Stefan after practice. "Wow. That's a great look on you." Elena told him.

"So, what, you're like my personal cheerleader?" He asked.

"You could sort of say that." Elena looked toward the field.

"You okay? You seem worried about something." Stefan told her. "Is it about the other night?"

"No." Elena said. It came out harsher than she'd intended. "I wanted to give you this before the upcoming game." She handed him one of the bracelets.

"A friendship bracelet?"

"You can think of it as a good luck charm." Elena told him. "With you on the team, it looked like you needed it."

"Hang on, there's two of them." Stefan pointed out.

"It's for Damon." Elena explained. "I figured if he's going to be around, we might as well try to include him in the group."

"Thank you." Stefan told her. "For everything. If it weren't for you, I probably never would've tried out."

"If you hadn't showed up that night, I might have given up at starting over." She confessed.

"Well, we'll find a way to deal with it together." Stefan said.

"It's all we can do." Elena replied. She kissed him on the cheek.

Later on, the football team was meeting. "I can't believe that he's even here."

"You okay?" Vicki asked him. "You seem really tense."

"Just a little stress." Tyler told her. "You're friend made it." Vicki turned and noticed Jeremy.

"Wait, Ty." Vicki said. "I don't know if I can do this friend thing with him."

"Look, we both care about you, Vic." Tyler told her. "Relax, I'll try to keep my anger under control, okay?"

"Tyler, is it true what he said?" Vicki asked him. "Do you really like me?" He looked toward him.

"Yeah, but you're not over him. And I wouldn't take advantage of someone vulnerable, like you are right now." Tyler told her. Vicki got up to leave.

"I better go. I came here mostly cause Matt's on the team."

"Wow, who knew that one of our best players had a soft side?" Stefan asked as soon as she was gone.

"He doesn't really show it often." Matt told him. Tyler looked at him. "Hey, it's cool. I know you're into her."

"Hey, guys?" They glanced over to find Elena. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the game?"

"She's right." Matt said. "Tanner's going to kill us if we're not with the others." The guys headed toward the locker room, while Elena started walking back to the other cheerleaders. Stefan heard her wince and turned around. She was on the ground, holding her knee.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"I'm fine." Elena said. She tried to get to her feet, but he stopped her.

"Are you sure? You didn't fall off the pyramid or something, did you?" Elena stood up as if nothing had happened to her. "You probably shouldn't…"

"It's okay. I'm fine." Elena told him.

"It looked like you were hurt for a second." Stefan told her.

"I'm okay. It's cheerleading, you know? Don't you have to catch up to the team?" Elena pointed out. "I'll see you later."

"Where were you?" Caroline asked. "We're having a little trouble with our formation, so if you could stand in the second row near Bonnie and Caitlin, we'll be set."

"Talking with the football players again?" Bonnie asked her.

"Can you tell me something?" Elena asked. "And I need you to be honest with me, because I'm scared about a few things."

"Of course. What is it?"

"The other day, you were trying to avoid me." Elena said. "What happened?"

"Look, it's nothing." Bonnie told her. "You've proven to me that you're still the same Elena, although somewhat stronger."

"Really, I need to know." Elena said. "You were scared of me or something."

"It's hard to explain. I got this weird vibe when I grabbed your arm." Bonnie told her. "It felt cold."

"And?"

"It was what I imagined death would feel like." Elena stared at her in shock. It had confirmed what she had feared, her best friend's powers were developing.

"I'm going to sit this one out, okay?" Elena told her. After changing back into regular clothes, she headed toward her car. Damon was waiting for her. "What are you doing here?"

"Hiding from Caroline. She would not stop talking about how you decided to ditch the team tonight." He explained.

"Look, I'm probably just nervous. I have been out of practice." Elena told him.

"She can be really annoying. If she weren't the daughter of the sheriff, I'd probably kill her."

"Look, I know Caroline can be a little annoying, but she's been my friend since the first grade." Elena told him. "Besides, she's had my back after I lost my parents."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Damon said. "And I notice how you always get tense around me, so I'll go."

"Look, I really like your brother, but you seem to make everyone nervous. I can't deal with this right now." Elena turned to leave.

"Speaking of which, what is up with these bracelets?" Elena froze and turned around.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked.

"My brother said that you gave these…" He held up his wrist to show he was wearing it. "To all of your friends."

"They're just friendship bracelets." Elena protested.

"Then why do they have vervain in them? Is it because of what happened in the woods that night? You want to protect them from whatever's out there?" It took everything in Elena not to rush over and throw him into the wall. She calmly walked toward him.

"Look, I don't know what you're problem is and why you keep making us feel uncomfortable. And I don't know what happened with you guys in the past, but I am not like her, whoever she is." She walked away from him, angry at him for questioning her.

After the game, the guys met outside. "Hey, you did good tonight."

"Thanks." Stefan said.

"Look, about earlier…I know he's a jerk, but he has a good heart." Matt told him.

"You mean Tyler? Yeah, my brother's the same way." Stefan said.

"I know I've kinda been a jerk at practice this week, too." Matt admitted.

"Hey, I get it. But you're a good friend." Stefan pointed out. "And an awesome quarterback."

"Still, we probably would've died without you tonight. We're lucky to have you on this team." Matt looked at his phone for the time. "I better go. Vicki's going to be waiting."

No sooner than Matt left, Stefan found Damon waiting for him. "Okay, man. There is something seriously up with your girlfriend."

"Not now, Damon. Can't we give it a rest for one night?" He asked.

"The bracelets Elena gave us? I examined them earlier. They have vervain in them."

"So what?" Stefan asked.

"I think she knows more about what's going on in town than she's telling us."

"Leave her alone, Damon." Stefan told him. "In fact, just leave everyone alone."

"Why?"

"Because you're really getting everyone nervous and worked up, not to mention they're afraid of you. So if you'd stop playing detective twenty-four seven and coming up with these crazy theories, maybe they'd let you in more."

"You've read the journals. You know they're real."

"Not the point right now." Stefan told him.

"Then what is the point, Stefan?"

"Look, I know you still miss her." Stefan told him. "I think that you haven't quite gotten over her yet, Damon. You're still in love with her, aren't you? But she's gone now, and you're still upset over what happened."

"Shut up!" Damon snapped at him. "You think you know everything, but you don't. I'd keep an eye on your girlfriend if I were you." The two of them began to walk off in separate directions. All of a sudden, there was a scream. They both ran back to find Tanner lying on the ground, dead.

"Oh my god." Stefan said.

"Do you believe it now?" Damon asked. Stefan shot him a look that said, can we stop arguing for five minutes and get some help? Then he pulled out his phone and called an ambulance. Stefan sent out a message to everyone on his contact list.

"It's weird." Tyler said. "Tanner said he wanted to talk after the game, but he wasn't there."

"That isn't like him at all." Matt said. "I wonder where he is."

"No one liked him much, but…" Suddenly, their phones went off.

"Look, I know you like Vicki that you're not sure of things. But Jeremy's one of my friends, too. Maybe you need to learn to control your anger more and she wouldn't be so scared of you."

"Hey, it's from the new guy."

"It sounds really urgent. He found Tanner."

No less than a second later, Matt and Tyler were over nearby. And they weren't alone, the entire team plus the cheerleaders as well as other students. The police were there and so was Tanner. Or rather, Tanner's body. "Oh my god!" Matt said.

Bonnie noticed the numbers around the area. The same ones she'd had visions about. She wanted to run. Damon was busy telling the police what happened.

"How did this happen?" Vicki asked. Jeremy stood next to her and looked at Elena. She looked back at him. They both knew this would be a problem.

"Why would someone do this?" Elena asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

"I know, Elena."

"I'm scared, Stefan. I don't know if I can handle this if it happens again."

"You're going to be okay. Are you sure you can get home alright?" Stefan asked her.

"Yeah, I'll call you when I get home, though." Elena told him. "I better get Jeremy." It didn't take long for her to find him. The two of them rode home in silence. Then they went upstairs.

"Should we talk about this?" Jeremy asked.

"Maybe tomorrow." Elena told him.


	7. The Founder's Party Part I

"We should talk about what happened last night." Elena said.

"Yeah. That was crazy." Jeremy told her. They looked at each other.

"It wasn't you, was it?" They asked at the same time.

"I was with Bonnie and Caroline." Elena told him. "I was planning to leave, but then I ran into Damon, so I stayed to watch the game. I was with them when I got Stefan's text message. It wasn't me."

"Well, what reason do I have to attack Tanner? I didn't even know him!" Jeremy pointed out. "Besides, I wasn't even at the school until Vicki called."

"You think those guys that killed us are at it again?" Elena asked. "Trying to frame us?"

"If it is them, we are so outmatched." Jeremy said.

At the Boarding House, Salvatores were discussing the same problem. "They ruled it as an animal attack." Damon told his brother.

"You sure it was an animal?"

"How should I know?" Damon asked. "At this point, I can't tell if it's real or if it's a cover-up."

"Who would cover…don't start this again. It's way too early in the morning to deal with it." Stefan told him.

"Well, if it is what I think it is, you're girlfriend's charm bracelets should keep us safe."

"For the last time, Damon, we are just friends." Stefan said.

Downstairs, Elena was carrying a box. "What's all this?" Jenna asked.

"Mom wanted to let Mrs. Lockwood borrow it for the display at the Founder's Ball." Elena explained.

"Whoa, hang on." Jeremy said. "Did you check to see if there was anything in there that might be dangerous?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, to us."

"I'm sure it's all safe, Jer." Elena told him. "But just in case, go ahead." The doorbell rang. Elena gave the box to Jeremy and answered.

"You okay?" Stefan asked.

"Just a little shaken up, but fine." Elena told him. They headed upstairs to talk in private. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's not like I knew him or anything." Stefan said.

"He was kind of a jerk, though."

"I just hope this whole thing gets cleared up. No one can figure out what happened."

"You know, they're having the Founder's party tomorrow night." Elena told him, trying to change the subject. She didn't want to think of the possibility of the other vampires still out there.

"So, is it like some town event or something?" Stefan asked.

"Apparently our town's Founding Families are important to the community." Elena explained. "Besides, this year they're having a display of the town's heritage. It meant a lot to my mom. She was on the council and it was her favorite party every year."

"What time should I pick you up, Miss Gilbert?" Stefan asked her. Elena couldn't keep herself from laughing.

"Around six would be okay."

"He's coming to the Founder's Party? What were you thinking?" Bonnie asked her. They were outside the Lockwood's place.

"It's no big deal, Bonnie." Caroline said.

"No big deal, the guy gets on everyone's nerves!" Bonnie pointed out. "Including yours!"

"Look, not like he has a choice. He's on the council." Caroline shot back.

"Right. Sorry, I'm just freaked over this whole Tanner thing." Bonnie told her.

"He and his brother have some issues to work out." Caroline pointed out. "Besides, I already have a date to the party."

"Who is it?" Bonnie asked.

"Some guy that works at the Grill. I didn't catch is name."

"So, someone that you don't even know?"

"Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Hey, how are you?" Tyler asked. Vicki looked over at him.

"I've been better." Vicki told him. "Look, I really just don't want to talk right now."

"Is this about Tanner?" Tyler asked.

"No, it's just…" Vicki sighed. "I don't know. I'm tired of feeling used by guys all the time."

"I wouldn't do that." Tyler told her.

"So, that Founder's Party is this week, right?" She asked, changing the subject.

"You want to come as my date?"

"No, I find these things stupid and lame." Vicki told him.

"So do I. But it'd be less stupid and lame if you were there." Tyler said. He noticed Jeremy walking over. "I'll give you two some time to talk." He walked away.

"Ty!" Vicki called after him.

"Wow, Vicki, you look great." Jeremy told her. "Is that new?"

"Yeah. Retail therapy helps when I'm upset sometimes." Vicki said.

"You know, he really does care about you." Jeremy said. "Why don't you give him a chance?"

That afternoon, Tyler showed up at Elena's house. "My mom sent me to pick up a box of stuff for the display."

"Here," Elena gave it to him. "Please be careful with it. I'm meeting with your mom tonight."

A few hours later, Bonnie showed up to help Elena with her dress. "What do you think?"

"Maybe we should mix them." Elena said.

"You seem happy."

"I am. It's been a long time sense I've felt this way." Elena told her. "So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Can I just tell you in the morning?" Bonnie asked. "I don't want to ruin things."

"Bonnie…"

"Okay, but Caroline will kill me if she finds out I told you." Bonnie said. "Do you know what happened with Stefan and Katherine?"

"So that's her name?" Elena asked.

"Apparently." Bonnie said.

"Only that both he and Damon dated her and that she used them." Elena said. "And then she left town and never came back."

"Yeah, but Damon doesn't think he's over her." Bonnie said. "I think that he thinks that Stefan's using you to get over her."

"That only sounds like his side of the story. Besides, he broke up with her three years ago." Elena pointed out.

"I just thought you should know."

"Look, I already know that isn't true. Besides, she was hiding who she really was." Elena told her.

"Well, it's a good thing you don't have that problem, then."

"I am sort of hiding something." Elena admitted. "But I can't tell anyone yet."

"You know that no matter how bad it is, I'll have your back, right?" Bonnie asked. Elena sighed. How was she ever going to be able to tell her the truth? Would she even accept her then?

"So, what time is this thing again?" Damon asked his brother as he walked in.

"Why are you going?"

"Well, the Council is having a small gathering." Damon explained. "Besides, all the Founding Families will be there."

"Just don't do anything stupid this time."

"What's your deal? Nervous about your date?"

"Can't I ever have a life without you messing with me?" Stefan asked.

"Seriously, man. Just go for it." Damon told him. "I can tell she likes you." Stefan slowly stepped out of the room.

Elena's phone rang. "Hello? Mrs. Lockwood? What do you mean?" She listened carefully. "Are you sure? It was there. I'll check and make sure, okay?" She walked into Jeremy's room.

"What's up?"

"Where's the pocket watch?" Elena asked.

"What?"

"The one from the loan box. Mrs. Lockwood said it was missing. She can't find it and thinks she lost it." Elena explained. "I know you took it. You were the last one to go through the stuff."

"Look, we can't let them find this thing." Jeremy told her. He placed it on the table.

"Why not?"

"Because it gets passed down to the firstborn son in our family." Jeremy explained. "And I think this is the Gilbert compass."

"You mean the one that tracks…" Elena started to ask.

"Yeah."

"Look, there's no proof that…" Jeremy placed it on the table and opened it. Surely enough, the dial pointed toward Elena.

"Do you believe me now?" Jeremy asked. Elena looked at the artifact in surprise.

"We better make sure they don't find it." Elena said. "There's an old normal one in the attic."

The next day, almost the whole town was at the Founder's party.

"Hey, Tyler." Vicki said.

"Hey, I know a short way around here."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Vicki asked him.

"The party's in the backyard anyway. I know every inch of this house, come on." Tyler told her. She reluctantly followed him.

"Caroline. How are you?" Mrs. Lockwood asked.

"Fine." Caroline said. She was with some guy. "This is Marcus. He's my date."

"Well, don't just stand there, come in you two." The two of them entered the room together.

"I'll be right back." Caroline told her date, spotting her mom. "Really? You couldn't even change out of the badge for this?"

"I'm working, honey." Sheriff Forbes told her. "Who's the date you just tried to sneak past me?"

"Just some guy from school." Caroline explained.

"Wow. The original guest registry's listed here." Elena said. "That name looks familiar." She looked at the list and realized they were the original founders.

"Johnathan Gilbert." Damon read aloud. Elena jumped. She didn't hear him come in. "Any relation to your family?"

"This might not be the best time to discuss that." Stefan pointed out.

"It's okay. I don't mind." Elena said. "I think he might be related to my Uncle John, but he's out of town. I'll ask next time he visits."

"Have you seen Marcus anywhere?" Caroline asked. "I lost him in the crowd." The group looked at each other.

"No, sorry." Damon told her.

"Mind if I talk to your date?" Caroline asked.

"Not at all." Elena said. She felt sorry for Stefan as Caroline pulled him toward the dance floor.

"Uh, I'm not a good dancer." Stefan told her.

"Since when?" Damon asked. Stefan shot him a look that said, You're not helping.

"Well, I wanted to talk where they wouldn't be able to hear." Caroline told him. Elena heard this.

"You two go on." Elena said, encouraging her. The two of them walked away, leaving Elena alone with Damon.


	8. The Founder's Party Part II

Elena glanced around, nervous about what Damon might do this time. "I wanted to apologize for the other night. I really didn't mean to freak you out. Sometimes I tend to jump to conclusions without getting the facts straight."

"That explains so much." Elena said.

"That and the fact that we've had this sibling rivalry for the past few years."

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Stefan asked.

"I think something's up with my date." Caroline said.

"Like what?" Stefan asked.

"He's been acting strange and distant all night."

"Look, I don't like fighting with my brother. But sometimes we just see things differently." Damon was telling Elena.

"Does this have anything to do with her?" She asked. "You know, the one who skipped town? Katherine?"

He looked at her. "How did you know her name?"

"Lucky guess." Elena said, mentally kicking herself for coming up with the worst excuse in the book.

"I'm not sure if she left at her own free will, though." Damon told her. "The last time we both really saw her…something happened. I don't think she noticed us, though."

"I'm sorry about what happened." Elena told him. "But I'm not going to get in the middle of this. I hope you two manage to work things out."

"So do I."

Vicki and Tyler were sitting on a bench outside the house. "So you want to dance?" Vicki asked.

"I'm not a very good dancer."Tylertold her.

"You're kidding, right?" Vicki said. "You live at this cool place and you can't dance?"

"I never said I couldn't dance." He pointed out. "I just don't like dancing."

"Oh, come on. It looks like everyone else is enjoying it. Besides, I'm trying to give you a chance here. Unless you're afraid I'll go running back to Jeremy."

"Look, I know you're not over him and I don't want to mess this up. Not again."Tylertold her. She stood up.

"Maybe I'm not the only one who needs to take a chance here." She held out her hand.

"Fine, just don't tell anyone about this." He took her hand and stood up. They walked toward the dance floor.

Damon and Elena stepped outside and ran into Stefan and Caroline. "What'd we miss?" Damon asked.

"We were just talking about school." Caroline told them. "And Marcus."

"Here, I got you a drink." Elena handed Caroline a glass. She didn't know why, but she had this bad feeling. So she added a little vervain to her drink.

"Thanks."

"Stefan, you don't mind dancing again, do you?" Elena asked.

"Of course not."

"They are so cute together." Caroline said.

"I thought they were just friends." Damon pointed out. They both laughed.

"Please, they're so into each other." Caroline said. "They just don't realize it."

"What did he say this time?" Stefan asked.

"He apologized for antagonizing us. He explained that some of it comes from whatever happened with Katherine."

"You know?" Stefan asked.

"I only know her name, not what happened."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I get it, Stefan. You have your secrets and I have mine." Elena said.

"I know. Sometimes I wish you'd tell me."

"I don't know if I can." Elena admitted. "It just feels too soon, you know?"

"Look, if you're worried I'll tell my brother anything, I won't." Stefan told her.

"It isn't about Damon." Elena said. "I'm sorry I brought up Katherine. I was just wondering what happened, that's all."

"I really don't feel like talking about it."

"So, what school did you transfer from anyway?" Elena asked.

"Some private school. It was kind of boring, to be honest."

"I have to go." Elena told him. She turned away and left.

"What was all that about?" Bonnie asked her.

"Sorry, fashion emergency." Elena said as she ran past her and into the bathroom.

Inside, Caroline found Marcus. Damon was still next to her. "Where have you been?" She asked Marcus.

"I've been looking for you." Marcus told her.

"You just disappeared." Caroline pointed out.

"Sorry. I was looking for something."

"Well, you could've told me first."

"Look, can you meet me in the backyard?" Marcus asked. "We can get things straightened out then."

"Fine." Marcus left. Caroline walked over to Damon. He was holding some kind of crystal.

"What is that?"

"My girlfriend dropped this here a few years ago." Damon explained. "I wanted to return it to her."

"So, where is she, anyway?"

"She's out of town at the moment. I'll air mail it to her."

"I never thought you'd be such a gentleman." Caroline said.

"We're not all bad, you know."

Caroline went into the bathroom and ran into Elena. "Hey, Care."

"Hey. How are things with Stefan?"

"They're improving. Sort of." Elena told her.

"Really? Cause you seem kinda down about something." Caroline said.

"Caroline?" Elena asked. "What's that on your neck?"

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked. Elena unwrapped the scarf Caroline was wearing and gasped. There were bite marks on her.

"Oh my god! What happened?"

"I don't know, Elena." Caroline said. She sounded scared. "Who could've done this?"

"Did you see anyone unfamiliar?" Elena asked.

"No, except maybe my date." Caroline said. Elena looked at her. Then she really noticed her.

"You don't remember what happened." She realized. To cover up, she added, "He probably knocked you out."

"I have no idea what's going on, Elena." Caroline said. "I have to meet him outside."

Elena stepped out of the bathroom and ran into Marcus. "Look, stay away from Caroline or I'll call the sheriff."

"Wow. That's different." Marcus said.

"Elena, what's going on?" Damon asked.

"Something's wrong with Caroline." Elena told him. "Keep an eye on her?" She ran into Stefan. "I'm sorry. There's something I need to take care of."

"What's going on?"

"I think Caroline's in trouble." Elena told him. "There were bite marks on her neck and she seemed to be acting strange. I think it's Marcus."

"How can I help?" Stefan asked.

"You can get Sheriff Forbes." Elena said. "He needs to be taken down."

"Elena, I think I know how to handle this."

"It's too dangerous, Stefan." Elena said. "If he's what I think he is, I'm not going to risk you getting killed."

"What do you even know about this, anyway?" Stefan asked. "I mean, it's not like you stand any better chance than I do. After all, my family's on the Council."

"Hello? Gilbert." Elena pointed out, gesturing to herself. "Besides, I'll be fine."

"I'll call you when I'm ready." Stefan told her.

Outside, Vicki ran into Jeremy. "You actually came here?" She asked.

"Yeah. My sister called and said there was a problem."

"I'll see you around, Jer." Vicki told him.

In the garden, Damon noticed Caroline talking with Marcus. He looked angry at her. "Why do you always treat me like I'm dirt?" Caroline asked him. "There's no good reason for it. Do you even have any feelings for me?"

"Of course I do." Marcus told her, obviously lying.

"Look, I don't want to be here." Caroline said. "Could you please just take me…"

"It's fine, Caroline." Marcus said. "I've been over you for a long time now." Suddenly, his face started to change.

Back inside the house, Elena heard Caroline scream. She sped out to the garden to find Caroline on the ground, barely conscious. Damon was lying on the ground. Elena checked to make sure he still had a pulse. Luckily, he was just knocked out. But Caroline seemed near death. Elena looked at Marcus.

"You get the hell out of here right now and leave my friend alone!" She yelled at him.

"Not a chance, girlfriend." Marcus told her. He launched himself at her but she fought back at him. She kicked him hard in the stomach. He grabbed her from behind. Suddenly, Stefan was at her side. He had a small branch from the ground in his hand.

"I couldn't find my brother's stake, so I had to improvise." He told her.

"Get out of here!" Elena said. "I've got this." Suddenly, Marcus grabbed Stefan and threw him to the ground. "Go find help and get Damon out of here. I'll take care of him." She picked up the stake, sped over to Marcus and shoved it into his chest. Instantly, he turned grey and died.

Elena went over to Caroline. She was losing consciousness fast. "Caroline…"Stefan was busy helping his brother, so he hadn't seen her kill Marcus. He stood up to get help. Elena bit into her wrist and gave her blood to Caroline. Stefan turned and saw Caroline leaning against Elena's wrist.

A few minutes later, he and Damon were gone. Caroline woke up and found the crystal next to her. "It must've fallen out when he tried to save me." She said.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked.

"Where's Marcus?" Caroline asked.

"Don't worry, Caroline. He can't hurt you anymore." Elena told her. "Come on, I'll get you out of here."

"Thanks." The two girls left.

At the Boarding House, Damon woke up in the living room. "Uh. It feels like I got hit by a car."

"You were trying to save Elena's friend."

"Yeah. I remember, that vampire asshole. What happened?"

"I wanted to apologize. You were right about them." Stefan told him. "They are real and this one would've killed you and that girl if Elena and I hadn't stopped them." They looked at each other for a moment.

"I'll try to stop being so detective like around the others." He told him. "But maybe now you'll take it more seriously."


	9. Almost Back to Normal

Damon woke up in his room a few days later. His head started to hurt. "Ow. What happened?"

"You tried to take on that vampire, remember?" Stefan told him. He tried to get up. "Easy, you might have a concussion or something."

"How long has it been?"

"Three days." Stefan said. "You tried to save Caroline, but took a really bad hit. The doctor suggested that you stay here for a couple more days."

"I remember trying to help that girl and…that's I can remember."

"She's safe. Elena killed him and took her home." Stefan told him. "He won't hurt anyone else."

"Why would she help?"

"She's part of the Gilbert family. She knew what she was doing."

"How would she know about any of this?"

"I don't know. But I know she wouldn't hurt anyone." Stefan told him. "I should go. I still have class this morning."

At home, Elena went into the bathroom and ran into Vicki. "Hey, Elena. I'll be out in a second."

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"I slept on the couch downstairs last night. I didn't feel like going home and seeing Matt." Vicki explained.

"She seemed really nervous last night." Jeremy added, appearing behind Elena. "I wanted to help and she asked me."

"Thank you." Vicki said.

"I'll meet you at school, okay?" Jeremy told her. Vicki nodded.

In the kitchen, Elena found Jenna. "Did you know she was here last night?"

"Yeah."

"And you're not surprised?"

"He could've made an effort to sneak her in through the front door." Jenna said. "I saw them come in. She seemed really shaken after the party."

"Well, she has nothing to worry about now, I'm sure." Elena said.

"Except her excess pills maybe." Jenna said. "So, how are things with Stefan?"

"He's been keeping an eye on Damon after that fight." Elena explained. "He was hurt pretty badly."

"You haven't called?"

"No. It's family stuff. I shouldn't get involved."

"You think he's okay?" Jenna asked.

"I hope so." Elena said. "He was trying to help Caroline. I'm worried about how it's effecting Stefan and how soon he'll fully recover from the attack. But I'm also not going to let it control my life."

"Okay."

"I've got to get to school." Elena said. "See you later, Aunt Jenna."

At Caroline's, Bonnie arrived to pick her up. "I remember arguing with Marcus and then I passed out or something. Maybe he knocked me out. I don't know." Caroline explained.

"You're lucky he's taken off." Bonnie said.

"I remember that Damon was trying to help me." Caroline continued. "He tried to keep him away. I just don't want to think about Marcus anymore."

"What's that?" Bonnie asked. The crystal from last night was on the nightstand.

"It's Damon's." Caroline said. "It must've fallin out of his pocket during the fight. I know I should return it to him."

"It's kinda ugly." Bonnie told her.

"All the more reason to return it."

At school, Caroline was helping promote the car wash. "It's almost like nothing happened." Elena said.

"She's just upset. She feels kinda responsible for him getting hurt." Bonnie explained.

"Hey, guys." Stefan came over to them.

"Hey." Bonnie said. "I have to get to class. It's been a rough day so far."

"Sorry I haven't called."

"It's okay. How's he doing?" Elena asked.

"It's been hard." Stefan told her.

"I'm sorry." Elena said. "I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not."

"Look, thanks for your help back there." Stefan told her. He could've been dead if you hadn't intervened."

"Want to meet later?" Elena asked. "So we can talk about this?"

"I'll meet you at the Grill." Stefan told her.

"Okay."

"Stefan, how's he doing?" Caroline asked. "I wanted to thank him in person."

"He's still recovering."

"When can I see him?" Caroline asked.

"Look, it's probably not a good idea." Stefan told her. "Maybe tomorrow."

"He needs some time, Care." Elena told her.

"I understand." Caroline said.

After school, Elena went to the Grill. She noticed Matt right away. "Hey, Matt, um, have you seen Stefan?"

"Nope. If you want to kill some time, um, you can rack." Matt offered. She hesitated. "Come on. We haven't played in forever. I'll let you break." Elena made sure to be gentle with it. She didn't want to accidentally break the pool table with her strength.

"He brought her to our house last night." Elena explained. She wondered why he was running so late. She figured that he was checking on Damon. "She said she didn't want to come home last night."

"Yeah, I'm worried about her." Matt admitted. "She's been overdoing it a bit lately."

"Those pills must be messing with her system, along with the stress of the attacks." Elena figured.

"So, how late is he, anyway?"

"Almost an hour. But he's probably just checking on his brother. He tried to intervene in a fight with Caroline and her date."

"Well, that's understandable. I was really worried about Vicki when she was in the hospital." Matt told her.

"Honestly, what do you think of him?" Elena asked.

"Why? Aren't you two friends?" Matt pointed out.

"Yeah, but we've been a little distant lately." Elena said. "And I'm kinda hiding something from him."

"Like what?" Matt asked. "Like that you're Superwoman or something?"

"Well, sort of like that." Elena admitted. "But seriously, what do you think?"

"I think you two are alike. You're both kind of loners, into sports, and when it matters, you're both good people." Matt told her.

"You really think that?" Elena blushed.

"You two should really talk this out." Matt said.

"Good idea." Elena jumped when she heard Stefan behind her. She turned around. "Sorry that I'm late."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah. He was sleeping when I got there."

"Why didn't you call?" Elena asked.

"I'm just gonna go." Matt left the Grill, leaving them alone.

"I'm sorry. It's not easy for either of us." Stefan told her.

"I know. Matt went through the same thing a few weeks ago." Elena told him.

"Look, he's convinced you're hiding something."

"Stefan, I can't do this right now." Elena told him. "I don't want to deal with his detective games anymore. You're probably no better than him."

"Hey, look." Stefan said. "I'm sorry. I'm still a little edgy about the Katherine thing and Damon's convinced you're dating someone."

"You know I'm single." Elena pointed out. "Even if I was, I would tell you first."

"I know."

"Look, you don't need to worry about anything. You're my friend, Stefan." Elena told him. "I have to go. Aunt Jenna's probably waiting." She just left him standing there alone.

As soon as Elena got home, she found Jeremy. "Are you okay?"

"No." Elena said. "Is she here?"

"I'm tutoring her in math." Jeremy told her. "You look awful. What happened?"

"Just trust issues."

"Really? That doesn't explain why you're crush is downstairs." Jeremy said.

"What?" Elena went downstairs to find Stefan waiting for her. "Stefan. What are you doing here?"

"You're brother called and asked me to help with the cooking." Stefan told her. "And I wanted to apologize for being such an idiot."

"Seriously, why are you here?" Elena asked.

"Look, you were right about the Katherine thing." Stefan told her. "But I want you to hear my side of the story."

"Let's hear it."

"She was our oldest childhood friend. She was very beautiful and knew how to have fun. But she was also impulsive and self-centered. I think Damon really fell for her, though. I'm not sure. Then we found out she was dating both of us and we turned against each other. And then she left. Or so we thought." Stefan said. "About a year after she left, I thought I saw her with a group of guys. I don't know if it was real or not. But I'm glad she's out of my life."

Elena looked at him, realizing she'd have to come clean sooner or later.

Upstairs, Vicki was with Jeremy. "What you did for your sister was really nice." Vicki said.

"Well, I figured if they had issues to work out, now would be the right time." Jeremy said.

"What's this?" Vicki asked, holding a bottle of pills.

"Those are from the car accident."

"So, she won't miss them." Vicki said.

"I don't think so." Jeremy said. "Look, you're unstable enough from that animal attack. Getting high isn't going to solve everything. I know that."

"I thought you didn't care what I did or not." Vicki said.

"I care about you as your friend." Jeremy told her. "Friends trust each other, so trust me when I say it's not worth it."

"Wow. You're sister's really rubbed off on you." Vicki said.

"So, anything else you want to talk about?" Elena asked as she helped Stefan out.

"Just thought you should know why I'm so…you know."

"Uptight?" Elena asked.

"Yeah."

"You know, I've noticed you have a lot of books." Elena said. "At your house."

"I do a lot of reading in my free time."

"Wow, we really do have a lot in common." Elena laughed. Suddenly, she winced. "Ow." She went over to the sink. Stefan noticed blood on the knife.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She noticed her cut healing already.

"Are you sure?" Stefan walked over to her. "Here, let me see." He looked at her hand. There wasn't a scratch on her.

"I told you, I'm fine." Elena said.

"I noticed blood on the knife though." Stefan pointed out.

"Are you sure it isn't your blood on it?" Elena asked, knowing how stupid she sounded.

"Yes."

"It's nothing, really." Elena told him. "Let's just talk about this later." Stefan just looked at her as she went back to the sink. He was sure of what he saw. Either way, he couldn't be sure at the moment.


	10. Realization

At home, Stefan checked in on Damon. "So, you going to see Elena today?"

"I'll probably see her at the car wash." Stefan told him.

"What's up with you two? You've been acting strange since you got here." Damon pointed out.

"I'm sure it's nothing." Stefan said. "I'll see you later."

At the car wash, he ran into her. "Hey."

"Hey." Elena said.

"Uh, guys!" Caroline called. "The event is called Sexy Suds, remember?"

"Did she just…"

"Yeah, you get used to it." Elena told him. "Sorry." They both looked at each other.

"Could you just…" They both began, then hesitated. They turned away from each other, clearly embarrassed.

"Matt, focus." Bonnie told him.

"Sorry. It's just hard trying to move on sometimes."

"Would you at least try?" Bonnie asked. "She's been distant since the accident."

Caroline was managing the counter. She seemed a little distracted and worried about something.

"Aren't you afraid that's going to come off?" Stefan asked Elena as they worked on a car. They had changed into their tank tops inside. Elena looked down at the ring she was wearing.

"It's okay." Elena told him. "I always keep an extra one on me." She indicated to her necklace.

"You're brother has one like it." Stefan said.

"I have a friend that's into protective jewelry. She said the stones were good luck." Elena mentally kicked herself for lying.

"I see. You have some interesting friends." Stefan said.

"You must think we're all crazy." Elena told him.

"No. I wouldn't think that way of you." Stefan said. Elena looked at him in surprise. No one had ever said that to her before. She had no idea what to say or do.

"I'm going to get some towls." She finally got out.

"Okay." Stefan said.

At the cemetery, Jeremy was with Vicki. "What are we doing here?"

"I thought we could get to know some of my other friends." Vicki said. It was then he noticed there were three other teens there besides them.

"Hey, Vicki." One of them said.

"Hey. This is my friend, Jeremy." Vicki said.

"So, he has issues, too?"

"Just the normal ones." Jeremy said.

At the car wash, Elena went over to Caroline. "Hey, we're out of towels and those shimmy things." She told her.

"I'll go get some more. Mind the money." Caroline told her. She ran off. Elena just stared after her.

"Caroline finally freed you, huh?"

"I have no idea what happened. She just ran off." Elena said. Then it hit her. "And I think I know where she went."

"Is she always like this?"

"Only when she's really worried about someone." Elena told him. Then he understood. "Why do you two always feel like you have to help out?"

"Well, my brother's on the Founder's Council." Stefan pointed out.

"I figured that when he questioned me the other day." Elena said. "Most of them are a little intimidating, even if some of my friends are related."

At the Boarding House, Caroline went inside. She found out the address from Elena. Upstairs, Damon heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me." Caroline said. She opened the door and came in. "I wanted to see how you were."

"Don't worry, I'll live."

"Thanks for saving me the other day." Caroline said. "I should've known that guy was a jerk from the beginning."

"Don't be too hard on yourself." Damon told her. "Anyone could make that mistake." Caroline smiled.

"You know a lot about this, don't you?"

"I was in the same position once." He explained. "One day, you'll find someone better than him. Someone that really cares about you."

"Did you find someone like that?" Caroline asked. He didn't answer her.

"I did once." He finally said. "One day, I hope I'll find another girl like that, though."

At the car wash, Bonnie was looking at one of the cars. It was on fire. Stefan saw her staring as if she couldn't look away. "Bonnie!" He tried to snap her out of it. "Bonnie! Look at me." Finally, she blinked.

"What just happened?" She asked him.

"You were in some kind of a trance." He told her. She looked at the damage.

"Did I do this?"

"I think so." Stefan said. He remembered what Elena said about Bonnie's family being descended from witches.

"Nobody else saw, did they?" Bonnie asked. She sounded scared. "Don't tell anybody. Please."

"Relax. You're secret's safe with me." Stefan told her.

At the cemetery, Jeremy was leaning against a stone. "You look bored." Vicki said.

"We're in a cemetery. Don't you think this is weird?"

"Not when you're used to hanging around these guys." Vicki pointed out. "Hey, guys." She tossed a bottle of pills at them.

"Wow. Nice toss." One of the guys said.

"Well, thanks to this Elena Gilbert…" Another started. Jeremy turned to Vicki."

"You took those from the house?"

"It's not like she needs it." Vicki pointed out.

"She'll notice if they're gone." Jeremy pointed out. "That's not cool."

"It's no big deal."

"Actually, it is." Jeremy said. He was really getting angry now.

"Who is this guy again?" Someone else asked.

"Fine. I'm sorry, okay?" Vicki asked.

"Why are we even here hanging out with these losers, anyway?" Jeremy went on.

"They're my friends, Jer. Like you are."

"You're better than them, Vic."

"You're different than I thought you'd be." Vicki said. "Ever since we broke up, you've been acting like a completely different person. It's better if you just leave. If I want to feel like an idiot, I'll just run to Tyler." Jeremy left the cemetery, relieved to be away from them.

At the car wash, Stefan ran into Matt. "Hey, have you seen Elena?"

"No, not for a while."

"You think she went home?"

"Not sure."

"Thanks."

"Hey, I know you're into her and all, but since her parents died, she hasn't been the same." Matt told him. "If you're trying to figure out who she is, she'll just continue to hide behind whatever's changed her."

"Thanks anyway." Stefan turned to leave. Then, the realization hit him as he put the clues together.

"I'm afraid if people knew what I was, they wouldn't accept the new me." Elena told him once. "Ever since the accident, everything's changed, including me." He remembered how she cut herself the other day, yet there was no injury and how she turned away from him so fast a few weeks ago.

That night, at the cemetery, Vicki found two of her friends dead. "Oh, w that happened?" Suddenly, she turned in time to see one of her other friends drop dead in front of her. A figure was over his body. It turned and noticed Vicki. She screamed and fainted on the ground, hitting her head on one of the stones.

"Oh, no." Jeremy went over to Vicki and picked her up. "Come on, we better get you to my place."

At Elena's house, she was upstairs when she heard the bell ring. She went downstairs to open the door and saw Stefan. "It's late. What are you doing here, Stefan?"

"Elena, what are you?" He asked.


	11. What Happened in the Past

"Elena…what are you?"

The two of them were standing outside the house now. Elena remembered when she first woke up after changing.

"What happened? Jeremy?" She called. There was no one else around.

"Elena." She turned around. Jeremy looked surprised. "What happened to us?"

Outside the house, she looked away from Stefan. "Guess you figured it out, huh?"

"No. This is impossible."

"I'm sorry." Elena said. "I didn't want anyone to know." Before Stefan could say anything, Jenna showed up.

"Stefan? I didn't know you were coming. You don't have to stand out there, you know."

"Thanks, Aunt Jenna, I've got it from here." Elena told her. Jenna headed back inside.

"You're aunt…" Stefan began.

"Is human and she doesn't know." Elena explained. "She's the only family we have left and I don't want to freak her or anyone else out for that matter."

"You don't, uh, you know…" Stefan tried to get the words out, but she got it.

"Of course not! We'd never hurt Aunt Jenna." He flinched. He didn't mean to make her angry. "Sorry, I'm just surprised you'd think that."

"Maybe I should come back when it's not dark out." He said, turning to leave.

"Hang on." He turned around. "I know you'll probably hate me because I've hidden this."

"Maybe it's time we both started being honest with each other." Stefan admitted. A few minutes later, he was sitting in the kitchen. Elena returned with a small ring.

"Wear this. It vibrates when someone's lying. This way, you'll know everything I'm saying is the truth." Elena explained.

"How do I know you're not lying now?" Stefan asked.

"I have blonde hair and blue eyes." She said. The ring vibrated on the counter she'd set it on.

"It works."

"I asked a relative of a friend to make at least a dozen of them." Elena explained. "Believe me when I say I'll never hurt you."

"What about all those attacks?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know." Elena told him. "But Jeremy and I believe that it's the same guys that killed us. It's a long story. But you can't tell anyone about this."

"I won't, but I know my brother will figure it out eventually." Stefan pointed out to her.

"I know. That's why I'm asking you to keep it a secret." Elena said. She heard her phone ring upstairs. "Can we meet up tomorrow and talk about this?"

"I don't know…" Stefan said.

"I'll make a deal. I'll tell you everything about what happened if you'll tell me about how you found out about Katherine."

"Okay." Stefan said. He left the house. Elena couldn't believe this was happening.

In the cemetery, Jeremy was on the phone with Elena. "I really messed up this time."

"Where are you?"

"Cemetery. Long story, I need to bring Vicki by."

"What did you do?" Elena asked.

"Nothing, she fainted and hit her head on one of the stones." Jeremy told her. "I lost my temper."

"You need to be more careful." Elena pointed out.

"I know, I'm sorry." Jeremy said. "Just help me out." She heard Vicki groan in the background.

"You're not the only one who's blown it tonight." Elena told him. "I'll find a way out of this, you just get Vicki over here and watch over her."

The next day, she met Stefan at a coffee shop. "So, I'll tell you everything yuou want to know." Elena told him.

"I'm guessing garlic doesn't affect you." Stefan said.

"Right."

"How can you be out in the sun?"

"We have magic jewelry that protects us." Elena said.

"Crucifixes?"

"No effect."

"Holy water?"

"Not entirely sure, but from one of my recent fights I have to go with no." Elena told him.

"Mirrors?"

"So not true. How do you think I make sure I look decent?" Elena pointed out.

"And you don't kill to survive. You told me last night." Stefan remembered.

"We usually drink from blood bags or animals." Elena told him. "Though I seem to have a little more control than my brother." She paused. "Okay, it's my turn to ask. Why'd he help with Caroline that time?"

"I honestly don't know, but I think he was actually trying to protect her from Marcus."

"How did he know about…"

"He's on the Council, remember?" Stefan asked. "Besides, if he hadn't helped, if we hadn't helped, she'd probably be dead."

"I know." Elena said. "But it's still pretty bad if you look at it."

"Are there any others like you and Jeremy?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know." Elena said. "There might be, there might not be. I always have to have my guard up."

"We both know what happened when the town was aware and how it ended." Stefan pointed out.

"That's why I asked you to keep this a secret." Elena told him.

"It's not like I can really tell anyone anyway." Stefan pointed out. "He might already know, but ignoring that fact, I wouldn't tell anyone."

Upstairs in Jeremy's room, Vicki was lying down on the bed. Jeremy was watching over her. He ran his fingers over her forehead, where she had a nasty looking injury. "That looks really bad." She was still asleep, so she didn't hear him. "I'm so sorry you had to see that. I wouldn't normally do this, but it's the only way you'll get better."

Jeremy bit his wrist and brought it up to her lips. "Come on, Vic." Finally, she drank some of the blood. "There we go. You're going to be okay now."

At the cemetery, Elena pulled over. "Okay, it's my turn to ask questions."

"One quick thing, what are we doing here?" Stefan asked.

"This is where we died, my brother and I." Elena told him. "I thought this would be more private to talk and we met here, remember?"

"I get it. Can I ask one more thing? How long have you been…"

"It was three months ago. A month after the car accident." Elena explained.

"Whoa. I wondered why you were so sad."

"It's all true. Everything." Elena told him. "About my life, my family. But I'm still concerned about this incident."

"It started a while ago." Stefan began. "Damon and I used to be really close. He was like my best friend. Katherine lived next door to us. We were all very close back then. She wasn't like other girls, though. She was into soccer and football. I found it weird that she always had us chasing her, though."

"She was your childhood friend?" Elena asked.

"We were all good friends. Until she started dating both of us." Stefan explained. "Damon was worried you'd be manipulative, like her."

"Why would he think that?"

"I think he was just trying to protect me from getting hurt again." Stefan told her. "We only dated a few weeks, though." He remembered back a few years ago, when he was with Katherine.

The two of them walked through the park. "I told you I could beat you to that tree." She told him.

"He probably thought you were joking." They both turned around.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked as he noticed his brother.

"I had to cover for you with Dad. He's wondering where you are."

"Oh, man. Sorry."

"Well, at least you're committed to family." Katherine pointed out.

"I'm sorry, I forgot about your aunt." Damon said.

"Step-aunt, actually." Katherine corrected. "Anyway, now I need to figure out who to take to the dance. It is girls' choice, right?"

"She kept her dark side hidden, though." Stefan told Elena. "Then she left town without a word, or so everyone thought."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"My brother was really hurt when he found out the truth, though." Stefan went on. "One day, we saw her back in town. It was before we came here."

"What happened?"

"Katherine didn't die. She was murdered." Stefan told her. "And he's been upset ever since."

At Jeremy's house, Vicki was finally awake. Jeremy sat next to her. She had just come out of the bathroom. "How did I get here? I thought I was hurt…" Vicki started.

"You're fine, I checked."

"What did you give me?" Vicki asked.

"A little blood." Jeremy told her. "It was the only way I could help."

"You were in the cemetery. I remember fainting…that's all I remember." Vicki told him.

"I brought you here to recover. I'm sorry about your friends. I lose it when I get angry." Jeremy admitted.

"Whoa." Vicki said as the realization set in. "So, would you mind…"

"Vicki, it's not a good idea." Jeremy told her.

Back in the cemetery, Elena was pacing. "Damon was in love with her." Stefan explained. "But you probably figured that out already. Then we found out that she went with both of us."

"So how did she...you know." Elena couldn't bring herself to say the word die.

"We were in the field one day." Stefan said. "We were coming back from school, it was before we lost our parents." He remembered that horrible day perfectly.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked, following his brother.

"I thought I heard something." Stefan told him.

"Get your hands off of me!" A voice screamed. Stefan looked from behind a bush and saw Katherine being dragged off by two people. "Let go!"

"What's going on?"

"It's Katherine." Stefan told him. "Look." They watched as Katherine struggled to break free of her captors.

"Why are you doing this?" Katherine asked.

"Settle down, miss. Where your going, no one will be able to help you." Just then, she looked up and noticed the guys hiding. She looked surprised and sad at the same time.

"I don't see why you don't just kill me." Katherine told them.

"We prefer to drag it out and watch you die slowly." One of the guys dragging her said. "And your friends over there…" She gasped. The guy turned around and faced them. "Will stay exactly where they are."

"You jerk! You compelled them!" She screamed. The guys literally couldn't do anything but watch as she was dragged away. End Flashback.

"It wasn't until we read our ancestors' journals we realized that she was captured by vampires." Stefan told her. "We didn't even know she was back in town. She had returned without telling us, even though we promised to keep in touch."

"Is that what you meant when you were mad at her for keeping secrets?" Elena asked.

"Whatever secrets she had, she most likely took to the grave with her." Stefan said.

"No wonder he hates vampires." Elena said, changing the subject.

"I'd probably be the same if they took the person I loved." Stefan admitted. "Though, I do wonder…

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"When he finds out, what'll stop him from going after you?" Stefan asked. Elena froze in fear. She knew sooner or later, it was going to happen and she wouldn't be able to stop it.


	12. Close Call

Back up in Jeremy's room, he was with Vicki. "I feel that Tyler doesn't appreciate me. I've really tried to like him, but I just can't get over you for some reason."

"Even though you know my secret now?" Jeremy asked.

"What secret?" Vicki asked. He looked at her. Did that bump to the head do brain damage? "I still don't see why Elena dumped my brother."

"It was too dangerous for her to be around him. Same reason we broke up." Jeremy pointed out.

"Are you seeing someone else?"

"No." Jeremy said. It was the truth.

"My life is just one big mess." Vicki admitted, sitting down on the bed. "Matt has it so much easier than me."

"Hey, I used to feel the same about Elena." Jeremy told her.

"Really?"

"Until this happened to us, I never saw what everyone else saw in her." Jeremy admitted.

"This I've got to hear."

"After our parents died, in that month, we became closer. I finally saw her for who she was." Jeremy told her.

"Which was what?" Vicki asked.

"I saw how strong she was. Her compassion for others. It all got magnified once…" Jeremy cut off, not wanting to get into the rest of it. "Look, you can't tell anyone about this. There are people in this town that would hurt us if they knew."

"Can I go home now?"

"Well, it should be save now. The vampire blood should be out of your system."

"What does that even mean?" Vicki asked. She stood up, but almost fell. If Jeremy hadn't caught her, she'd be on the ground.

"Guess you should still be more careful. I forget that it effects people differently sometimes."

"Can I just go now?"

"Only if you let me help you." Jeremy said. "I'll help take you home. Getting downstairs won't be easy for you right now."

"Okay." Vicki said.

"I'll be right there with you in case you fall."

Back at the cemetery, Elena was pacing. "Is it true that you guys can, uh, compel humans?" Stefan asked.

"Yes, most vampires can." Elena told him. "That's why we gave those bracelets to our friends and family. There's vervain in them. It's not only used against us, but it can protect you from being compelled."

"So why did you give them to us?"

"Because you were the first person who understood that I'm different." Elena told him. "And because you're my friend. And as much as I don't like your brother, he doesn't seem like a bad guy. I don't like controlling people, much less the ones I care about. We also gave them to everyone to protect them from us." She added.

Back at her house, Jeremy had helped Vicki down the steps. He had called his sister and Matt for help. Matt arrived first. "Is she okay?" He asked.

"She's a little unsteady." Jeremy told him.

"Vicki, are you alright?"

"Fine. Just a little tired." Vicki admitted.

"What's the last thing you remember before coming here?" Matt asked.

"I don't know. I remember fainting, then nothing. Next thing I knew, I was here. Jer was watching me."

"We'll help get you home." Matt offered.

"Wait, what's that?" She asked. A news report was on. Jeremy unmuted the TV.

"3 bodies were found dead in what is believed to be a drug deal gone awry." The reporter was saying. "The bodies have yet to be identified. They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls cemetery."

"I was there last night." Vicki said.

"What happened, Vic?" Matt asked her.

"I don't…I can't…" She looked over at Jeremy, who looked nervous. Then the realization came to her.

"Vic, are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"Dude, you're shaking." Matt said.

"I'm fine. This just has me a little worried for her." Jeremy told him. It wasn't entirely a lie. He was concerned for Vicki's safety. Vicki, however, was looking at Jeremy in fear.

"Vicki?" Matt asked. Of course, at that moment, Elena and Stefan showed up.

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"She's really messed up." Matt explained. Elena looked at Vicki and realized what was going on. She looked at her brother for a moment.

"Stefan, stay back." She warned him. "Vicki, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you. Could you two watch after her for a moment? There's something I need to do." The group watched as Elena pulled Stefan into the kitchen with her.

"You know what's wrong with her, don't you?" Stefan asked.

"I do." Elena admitted. "She has vampire blood in her system."

"What?"

"Jeremy must've done it to heal her." Elena explained. "One of the few positive things is we can use our blood to heal others. However, because she's usually unstable due to drugs, it must be effecting her."

"What can we do to help?" Stefan asked.

"All we can do is wait for it to pass out of her system." Elena told him.

"How long will that take?"

"About twenty-four hours. But I'm worried she may have found out."

"You said you guys didn't hurt others." Stefan pointed out.

"We don't, but she doesn't have a vervain bracelet." Elena told him. "She might become more unstable."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Elena said. "I really don't know. I just hope she doesn't tell anyone. If not, we'll have to make her forget."

In the other room, Vicki looked at Jeremy. "Last night. I remember." She said.

"I promise you're going to be okay." Jeremy said.

"I'm so out of here!" Vicki ran out the room and out the front door.

"Vicki!" Matt called after her, but she didn't hear him, she just ran. Elena and Stefan had rejoined them at that moment.

"She panicked. She knows." Jeremy told Elena.

"I'm going to look for her. Call me if you find her." Matt said. He left the house.

"I'm going to try to find her, too." Elena said. "You're not the only one who blew it, Jer."

"Go for it. I'll wait here." He told her.

A few hours later, Stefan was in the living room with him. "I hope they're all okay." Jeremy said.

"I'm sure Matt would call when he found her."

"This is my fault. I did this to her."

"Hey, we all make mistakes." Stefan pointed out.

"Why didn't you go out looking with them?" Jeremy asked.

"I searched for about half an hour with Matt, then realized I had no idea where she'd go." He told him. Then the doorbell rang. They went to the front door to find Damon.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"You can stop pretending." Damon told him. "I know everything."

"Jeremy, get back." Stefan warned.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt him." Damon explained. "If I were going to kill him, I would've done it by now. I'm here to warn you. The council is out looking for vampires. Where's your sister?"

"Elena." Jeremy realized. "She's still looking for Vicki."

"That messed up druggie girl?" Damon asked. Jeremy glared at him.

"Enough." Stefan said. "This is getting us nowhere."

"You might want to go find her." Damon told them. "If that girl's with your sister, let's just say she's not the only one who will get hurt." He left them. The guys looked at each other.

"I think I know where they are." Jeremy said.

"Be careful. Elena would hate you if you died." Stefan told him. Jeremy nodded and headed out the door.

At the cemetery, Elena found Vicki. "Vicki?" Vicki looked at her and backed away. "Are you okay?"

"I remember last night. It was him, wasn't it?" She asked.

"He didn't mean it." Elena told her. "He never would've done it if he hadn't lost control."

"He said he wouldn't hurt me. That you guys don't like hurting people."

"It's true. I'm sorry about what you saw the other night." Slowly, Vicki stood up.

"I think I can get home by myself now." Vicki told her. "Relax, I won't tell anyone."

Before Elena could say anything, she was on the ground. Vicki turned and saw somebody with a gun. She got in front of Elena, but he didn't lower it. Suddenly, the guy fell to the ground, dead. "Jeremy?"

Jeremy appeared after he fell and went over to Elena. "Back up." He told Vicki. She moved away from her. Jeremy carefully pulled the bullet out of his sister. "Wooden. We were right. They are hunting vampires."

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Vicki.

"Yeah, just a little shaken." Vicki said.

"I'll make sure you get home safe." Jeremy told her. "Just don't take off like that again." Vicki nodded and the two walked off.

When Elena got back home, she was surprised to see Stefan still waiting. "You're hurt." He said, noticing her arm.

"It'll be okay. We heal fast." Elena told him. "Vicki's okay. Jer's walking her home."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"I trust him." Elena said. "I also trust her to keep our secret. She tried to save me back there. Though I do regret that she's going to have to cover while Matt's around."

"That's always the hard part, keeping everything covered." Stefan admitted.

"I'm sorry you had to find out about all this." Elena told him. She seemed a little sad. "Maybe we shouldn't hang out as much as before."

"I know you won't hurt me, Elena."

"It's not that. It's just, maybe it's safer that way." Elena pointed out. "Your brother hates our kind, remember? But we'll still be friends, just not as close." She went inside the house, leaving him staring after her long after she'd disappeared inside.

In her room, Elena finished writing in her diary, but still couldn't get to sleep. She wondered why it bothered her that she wouldn't be spending as much time with Stefan. She thought of her old life and fell asleep.


	13. Troubling Actions

Vicki was waiting in the parking lot at the school. She had no idea why she came out there, but it wasn't long before Tyler came out. "Hey, Tyler."

"Vic, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I snuck out of the house." Vicki admitted.

"You what?"

She pulled her jacket closer to her. "Please don't tell anyone."

"Are you on drugs?"

"No."

"I heard about those attacks. I'm glad you're okay." Tyler told her. He put his arms around her. "Did you see what happened?"

"I remember seeing a shadow, but that's it." Vicki said. She knew she couldn't tell him what really happened.

"Want me to give you a ride back?"

"I don't know. What if Matt sees me try to get back in?" Vicki pointed out.

"Why'd you come out here in the first place?"

"I honestly don't know. Maybe I just wanted to let you know I was fine, I don't know."

"I don't care if we get busted. I'll take you back home." Tyler told her. Vicki hesitated. Then she noticed someone else there.

"Stay away from me." She said, seeing nothing but the person's shadow. He stepped into the light.

"It's just us."

"Stefan?" Tyler asked. He turned to Vicki. "What is going on?" She shrugged.

"Relax, nobody's going to hurt her." They turned around to see Damon standing nearby.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Tyler asked.

"That's why my brother's here." Damon told him.

"Damon, I told you to stay out of this and to trust them." Stefan reminded him.

"How do we know we can trust them? She almost got hurt." Tyler looked at Vicki.

"I'm fine, really." Vicki said. "I was just helping Elena with something."

"You're barely passing school." Tyler pointed out.

"It was a community service thing." Vicki told him. "You are so slow sometimes."

"Look, I just wanted to talk to her about what she'd seen." Damon said. "But given how things are, it can wait."

"Do we really have to do this here?" Stefan pointed out.

"Look, we don't know if we can trust those two." He told him. "If we can't, we're going to have to take them down."

At the Gilberts', Elena woke up in her room after a night of barely any sleep. She headed to the bathroom, where Jeremy was. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm done."

"You're up early. Is something wrong?" Elena asked him.

"No, I'm just concerned about Vicki." Jeremy said.

"You know, she'll probably show up at tonight's party."

"I know, it's just, now that she knows, who's to say she might not accidentally tell anyone when she gets high?" Jeremy pointed out.

"I've thought about that, too. But I don't know if telling her was such a good idea."

"Do you regret telling Stefan?" Jeremy asked. Elena looked at him for a minute before answering.

"I didn't tell him, he figured it out." Elena pointed out.

"Whatever. Either way, we'll probably be dead." Jeremy told her. He walked off, leaving her staring at him in surprise.

At home, Matt was with Vicki. "Vic, where were you last night?" Matt asked.

"I was here."

"That's a lie, I know you snuck out again."

"I went to see Tyler. After yesterday, I wanted to see if things were okay." Vicki explained. "I promise, I'm fine. But there are some things I just need to figure out." She left the house.

Over at the Boarding House, Vicki sat down in the living room. "So, why'd you ask me to meet you here? Shouldn't we have just gone to the Sheriff's office?"

"That's too dangerous." Stefan pointed out. "Compared to my brother, she'd put you on the spot."

"Not to mention they wouldn't want anyone to know about this." Damon added as he walked in. "I know, because they covered up the murder of the guy that nearly killed you. Aka, Logan Fell."

"What? Why would he kill a high school student like her?" Stefan asked.

"I think he was after one of the Gilbert kids." Vicki shuddered at the memory. Damon noticed. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little cold." Vicki told him.

"It's okay, you don't have to lie to us." Stefan explained. "We know."

"Please, you only just found out about this, what, yesterday?" Damon pointed out.

"You are not helping." Stefan told him.

"Hey, just trying to point out that they did reveal their secret to both of you at the same time." Vicki and Stefan looked at each other.

"They said they didn't hurt people." Vicki said.

"They don't. Not usually, anyway." Stefan told her.

"How do you know that they're telling the truth, anyway?" Damon asked.

"I know that everything she said was true." Stefan said, careful not to tell him about the lie detector ring. He turned to Vicki. "Do you believe that they were telling you the truth?" She nodded. "Then you know you can still trust them."

"We can't trust them. They're vampires."

"Yeah, who got that way because they were attacked just like Katherine." Stefan pointed out as he started walking away. Damon froze. Stefan knew he'd struck a nerve by bringing her up.

"I am so out of here." Vicki said. She hurried out the door as the guys just looked at each other.

A few hours later, there was a knock at the Gilberts' House. Elena opened the door to find Damon. She groaned. "What do you want?"

"You haven't seen that Vicki girl, have you?"

"No." Elena told him. "Why does it matter?"

"Look, I know your little secret. One wrong move and I could turn you in."

"What's stopping you from taking me right now?" Elena asked.

"My brother somehow has the idea you guys have humanity. Maybe I want to see if he's right." Damon told her.

"I'll let you know if I hear anything from her." Elena told him. "But she isn't here."

"Elena, I'm going to the office." She heard her aunt call from upstairs.

"I'll see you later, Aunt Jenna." Elena called back. She turned to Damon. "She doesn't know anything about this. You'd better go before she sees you and assumes the worst." He left without saying a word to her. She turned and went back upstairs.

"Is everything okay?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, he's gone." Elena said. "Now what are we going to do? Matt's probably worried sick."

"Hey, everything will be fine." Jeremy told her. "But I'm just as worried about what could go wrong as you are."

"Well, we know what to do if it comes to that." Elena said. "Are you sure we can trust her?"

"I can hear you, you know." Vicki told them. "By the way, thanks for covering for me. I thought I'd never get away from him."

At school, Tyler ran into Matt. "Hey."

"Hey."

"I saw Vicki last night." He told him.

"I know. She tried to avoid the subject this morning." Matt said.

"She seemed a little shaken."

"Wasn't she in the cemetery the night those guys…" Tyler cut him off.

"I don't know, but it's probably better not to mention it." Matt nodded. "And now she's ditching school. Something's up with her."

"Whatever it is, we've gotta help her get it together." Tyler pointed out.

Caroline approached Bonnie carrying two bags. "I have your costume. It's in here."

"Seriously?" Bonnie asked, looking at the witch outfit.

"Come on. Can someone please be excited that it's Halloween?" Caroline asked. "I just wanna have fun, you know?" Bonnie noticed a familiar amber crystal.

"Hey, isn't this Damon's?" Bonnie asked.

"Oh, no. I can't believe I forgot to return it that night." Caroline said. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I let you borrow it, though. It matches your costume. So, what's Elena going as?"

"I don't know. I've been with Grams all weekend." Bonnie told her. "Maybe she's with Stefan."

"Maybe."

Back at Elena's, the siblings were with Vicki. "Look, I really hate lying to people, but there's no way we could let him know you were here." Elena told her.

"So, you weren't lying about not hurting people, right?" Vicki asked.

"You're safe with us, Vic." Jeremy told her. "Besides, I wouldn't do that again."

"That was you in the cemetery, wasn't it?" She said. "And that night I blacked out, were you responsible for that, too?"

"No." Jeremy said. "I mean, I was there, but you had already fallen over by the time I saw you."

"So, you don't drink human blood?"

"No, we do, just not from the human."

"How's that even possible?" Elena looked over at Jeremy. She wondered if Vicki was pretending or if she really was as dumb as she looked.

"It's a long story that I'm not happy to talk about." He told her.

"Wait, how come you can walk around in the day? Shouldn't you burn?" Vicki asked. "On second thought, I don't wanna know."

"Why don't you just sit down and I'll be back in a few minutes." Jeremy said. He headed downstairs. "Trying to make her understand is giving me a headache."

"You know I didn't come here just to hide from Damon, right?" Vicki asked as soon as he was gone.

"I don't get it. Why else would you be here?" Elena asked.

"For Jeremy." Vicki said.

"What?"

"I've still got feelings for him, Elena." Vicki explained. "I want to be with him, no matter what."

"Are you sure? This is a big decision. You should probably think about it." Elena said.

"I know. But I don't want to break up with him just because he's a vampire and I'm..." Vicki said.

"You don't want this, Vicki." Elena said. "Neither of us wanted this kind of life. Trust me, you don't want to turn."

"But I do. How long have you been planning this speech? Before we broke up?" Vicki asked.

"Look, neither of us wanted this. It's a curse, Vic." Elena told her. Suddenly, Vicki grabbed her and tried to push her away.

"Look, you dumped my brother for no good reason. I still see you as the little bitch who broke his heart, even though I can see the real reason for it now." Vicki told her. "And I love Jeremy, and I'm willing be with him even if it means becoming a vampire. Are we clear?" Elena released her arm in self-defense and walked away from her.

"You okay?" She turned and saw Jeremy.

"She threatened me." Elena told him.

"What happened up there?" Jeremy asked. "I know she has issues, but…"

"She wants to turn, Jer." Elena explained.

"What?"

"She's willing to give up her life just so she can be with you."

"I'd never do something like that to her." Jeremy told her. "She's already unstable enough. If you think she's crazy now, what'll happen if all that gets magnified?"

Elena nodded, realizing the disaster they'd have on their hands. "You know what this means, right?"

"Yeah, I know. And it sucks. But I can't risk her getting hurt or worse, killed."

"I'll be right back." Elena told him. She walked out of the room.

Jeremy  
>went upstairs. "Hey."<p>

"Hey." Vicki said. "I'm guessing you spoke with Elena."

"Yeah."

"You don't agree with her, do you?" Vicki asked. Jeremy didn't answer her.

"Vicki, you should head home. Matt's been really concerned about you lately." Jeremy told her.

"What about…"

"I don't think he'll head back to your place now." Jeremy said. "We'll talk later, okay?" Vicki headed downstairs. Jeremy heard the front door close.

"She just left." Elena told him from the bottom of the stairway.

"I know. But who knows what'll happen later?" Jeremy pointed out.


	14. The Halloween Party

Vicki entered her house. "Hey, Matt."

"Vicki, where were you today?" Matt asked. "I've been worried about you."

"It's no big deal." Vicki said. "I was tutoring someone."

"The police have been looking for you. They want to know what happened in the woods." Matt told her.

"I've been trying to avoid them." Vicki explained.

"Everyone's wondering where you are."

"All that matters is I'm back here, right?" Vicki asked.

"You're kidding, right? You're all anyone would talk about at school today, where you ditched, I should add, without letting anyone know if you were okay?" Matt pointed out.

Vicki was surprised. "Well, when you put it like that…" She started.

"I thought so."

At the Gilberts, Elena was on the phone. "I don't know where she is right now. I think she went home." She was saying.

"Really? Are you sure you're not just saying it cause he's been out looking for her?"

"I'm sure. Besides, she was at school all day." Elena said. She frowned as the thought crossed her mind. "She was there, wasn't she?"

"No. But whatever's going on with her, I hope she'll be okay."

"Look, I have to go now." Elena said. "Jeremy's trying to figure out what to do about this mess. And so am I."

"I hope you figure it out, Elena."

"Thanks, Stefan." She hung up the phone and went into the kitchen to find Jeremy.

"I can't believe this is happening." He told her.

"Hey, you wanna go to that Halloween party at school?" Elena asked.

"Really?" Jeremy looked at her like she was insane.

"I know this Vicki thing is hard on you." Elena said. "But if we don't make her forget this, it'll just cause more problems."

"I know that." Jeremy told her. "I'm just not sure it'll work."

"Hey. We're in this mess together, Jer." Elena pointed out. "We'll get through this."

That night, Elena was at the party. She didn't have anything else to wear, so she went wearing the same thing as last year-her nurse costume. "You went with the last year's costume too, huh?" Matt asked.

"Yeah. I didn't know I was coming until the last second."

"Same here." Matt told her.

"Jer and I have sort of gotten into a fight."

"Same with me and Vic after school." Matt said. "I almost didn't want to let her out of my sight here, but…"

"She's here." Elena said. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. She's dressed as a vampire."

"Oh, my god." Elena groaned. "Have you seen Jeremy?"

"Why, what's up?"

"I just need to find him." She told him.

Inside, Vicki was looking around for Jeremy and bumped into Stefan. "Sorry, I..." She looked up and saw him. "You again? Are you like following me or something?"

"Look, if you're worried I'm going to take you to be questioned, I'm not." Stefan told her. "In fact, my brother doesn't even know I'm here."

"So, why are you here?" Vicki asked, relieved that Damon wasn't around.

"Elena told me about your plan. You don't want to do this, Vicki."

"Why not?"

"You're not really thinking about what this means." Stefan explained. "When you change, all your senses are heightened. It'll take you a while before you can control them. And what about sunlight? You'll be stuck inside all day."

"You're just trying to scare me out of this, aren't you?"

"Of course not!" Stefan said. "We're all worried about you, Vic. You won't be able to make it as one."

At the Grill, Damon was meeting a woman from the council. "You're probably wondering why I called you here?"

"I'm guessing it has to do with the vervain."

"How'd you…"

"Our uncle used to supply it when he was on the Council."

"I can see if we have enough."

"Thank you, Damon." The woman said. "I should go. My husband's probably wondering where I am."

"Be careful out there. Wouldn't want them to go after you."

"If they ever did, I know how to defend myself." The woman said. "Not like our search has brought us any leads."

At the party, Elena was looking around. Finally, she found Stefan talking with Vicki. "Stefan."

"Elena, what is it?"

"I can't find Jeremy." Elena told him. "I'm glad you're here, though."

"Hey, Vic." Matt said. "We've been looking for you, too."

"She's fine. We were just talking." Stefan told him.

"Look, you seem nice, but the thing is, I don't trust you." Vicki told Stefan.

"Vicki, it's okay." Elena said. "If it's one thing I know, it's that he's not like his brother at all."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean anything to me." Vicki said. "Matt, can we get out of here?"

"Wait, is something going on here?" Matt asked. The three of them looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

"Look, everything's going to be okay." Elena told him.

"Did he do something to her?" He asked Stefan. It was like he didn't even hear Elena. When she turned back, she noticed Vicki wasn't with them anymore.

"She's gone!" She yelled without thinking. The guys looked up and noticed.

"We'll split up." Stefan suggested. Elena nodded and took off. "I promise, I will do whatever I can to help Vicki." He told Matt before leaving. Matt stood there for a second, then ran to see if he could find Vicki.

In the gym, Jeremy was walking around. Suddenly, Vicki showed up. "Vic, don't do that. You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry. I didn't know you guys could get scared." Vicki said.

"Just cause I'm…you know…it doesn't mean we don't get spooked." Jeremy told her.

"Can we talk somewhere?" Jeremy reluctantly followed her out of the gym.

Elsewhere, Damon was talking with Bonnie. "So, have you seen Caroline lately?"

"Last I checked, she was probably getting drunk." Bonnie told him.

"Where'd you get that necklace?" He asked her.

"About that. Caroline's been meaning to return it." Bonnie explained. "She's the one who found it the night you saved her."

"Just make sure it doesn't get damaged." Damon told her. "I'm trusting you with it for now." He disappeared into the crowd.

Bonnie tried to find him, but it was like he'd vanished. "Okay, that was really weird." She said, noticing his disappearance. Then she looked down at the necklace. It was glowing. When she checked it again, the glow faded.

Outside, Vicki was with Jeremy. "Look, I'm kinda worried about you, Vic."

"I'm fine. But I want to be with you, Jer."

"What are you saying?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't care about how dangerous it is. I'm willing to be with you no matter what happens."

"Even if it means giving up your life, your home, your family?" Jeremy asked. "What about Matt?"

"Come on, we know he'll manage. I'd rather be with you forever."

"I'm sorry, Vicki. I won't do it." Jeremy told her. "I don't want you to have to live this way. It's a curse, not a gift." Vicki looked at him in shock. Then she took a deep breath.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." She said. She pulled a stake out of the sleeve of her costume. Technically, it was just a stick she found lying around outside.

"What are you doing?" Jeremy asked. She tried to use it on her wrist, but it didn't work. "Cut it out, Vic."

"I should've known your sister would've convinced you not to."

"She didn't convince me of anything! I already wasn't going to turn you. I'm not going to watch you throw away your life, your brother, for something like this." Jeremy told her. He was holding her up against a bus at this point.

"Can't…breathe…" Vicki gasped.

"Sorry." Jeremy loosened his grip. As soon as she did, she pushed him back, catching him off guard. "You have got to be kidding me." Jeremy said. Then he looked behind her. "Vicki, I'm sorry, but you leave me no choice. Now!"

Suddenly, Elena appeared behind Vicki and grabbed her. The girl was so shocked she dropped the stake.

"Let go of me!"

"Stop struggling." Elena told her. "I don't wanna hurt you."

"Vicki, calm down." Jeremy said.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Everyone froze. Jeremy turned and noticed Stefan.

"We're trying to help her." Elena explained. "She kinda lost it." He looked at her, then at Vicki, then back to her. He nodded, understanding. "Now, Jer. I don't know how much longer I can hold her."

"Vicki, look at me." Jeremy told her. Vicki looked at him. "You're going to forget my secret. You're going to forget I'm a vampire. You remember that you had a problem with your dress and that Elena helped you with it." He paused and looked at Elena for help.

She nodded, telling him to continue. "You'll stop taking drugs and see a counselor to deal with the issue. Finally…" He placed a vervain bracelet in her hand. "You will never, ever, take this bracelet off. For any reason. Do you understand?" Vicki nodded. Elena let go of her.

Jeremy couldn't stand to be at the school anymore, so he ran off. "Jeremy…" Elena began. "Can you take her back inside?" She asked Stefan. He seemed hesitant, but agreed to do it. She didn't notice Damon standing nearby.

At home, Bonnie walked in feeling really confused about the necklace. "What happened?" Her grandmother asked.

"I don't know. While I was at the party, my necklace started glowing." Bonnie told her.

"Where'd you get that?" Grams asked, looking at the necklace.

"A friend let me borrow it for my costume." She explained.

"That belonged to one of the strongest witches in our family." Her grandmother told her. "Here, right here." She showed her a photo album. "There she is. Your great aunt, Emily Bennett." Bonnie gasped when she saw the picture. The woman in it was wearing the same necklace she had.

Back outside the school, Elena sat down on a bench. She looked down. She felt like she wanted to scream. Instead, she tried to calm down by taking a few deep breaths. "You okay here?" Damon asked, sitting next to her.

"I can't believe any of this happened." She admitted.

"Which part? The one where you got found out or the thing with Vicki."

"Both, but mostly the second." Elena told him. "And what am I going to do about Jeremy? I hate that he got into this situation."

That was when he got it. He understood, and it surprised him. "You feel guilty about it. I didn't know you guys could even feel anything." Elena stood up and laughed bitterly at that statement.

"Thought we couldn't feel." She repeated, angrily. She didn't know if she was angry at him, the mess they got into, or herself. "Not all of us are monsters." She left him there.

It wasn't long before she ran into Matt. "Hey, Elena. Have you seen…whoa." Elena looked down at her costume. The edge of her skirt had gotten frayed during the struggle with Vicki. "Something happen?"

"No, it was already like this. It is a year old, remember?" Elena told him.

"Did you see Vicki around anywhere?"

"Last I checked, Stefan was with her." Elena told him.

"Thanks. I'm going to see if I can find them. I'm her only way home." Matt said.

"I thought she had her license."

"Are you forgetting about New Year's last year?"

"Oh, right." Elena said. "I'll see you around."

When she got back to her house, Stefan was waiting outside. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"I have to talk with my brother." Elena told him. "I'll be back out soon, though." She went upstairs and found Jeremy in his room. "Are you okay?"

"No." She sat down next to him. "I never thought she'd lose and try to…"

"Neither did I. But we should've guessed with her unstable personality."

"Well, guess we don't have to worry about it anymore." Jeremy turned away from her. Elena understood.

"Jer, don't. We'll get through this, please. Keep it on." He listened to her. When he turned back, she noticed how upset he was.

"I hate this so much. I miss being human." Jeremy told her. Elena held him.

"I miss it, too, Jer." She said, not even trying to hide her tears as they fell. They were both holding each other and crying by now. Stefan had gone inside and saw everything from the bedroom doorway. Damon was with him. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. After a few minutes, Damon left.

Outside, Elena went to talk with Stefan. She had calmed down by now. "Thanks for waiting."

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked.

"Not really." Elena told him. She sat down next to him on the porch steps."They used to date. Before this happened."

"I wish I could help." He turned to her. "I mean, if there was anything I could do…"

"All we can do is try to keep our emotions in check."

"What…what do you mean?" Stefan asked.

"Some vampires choose to turn off their humanity." Elena explained. "One of the reasons is because when we're upset or hurt, it really hurts. It takes everything in us just to keep fighting the downsides."

"I didn't know…"

"Neither did I. After all, both our ancestors were vampire-hating extremists." Elena pointed out. She laughed.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Elena said. She looked out at the sky. A feeling of sadness crept back in. "There are times where I wish I were human again, too. Not having to hide this secret from everyone. Just be normal, like everyone else."

"Normal can get pretty boring sometimes, though."

"Yeah, but I just hate feeling so sad all the time." Elena told him. "But even though I hate being what I am now, I wouldn't change anything. I'm lucky to have you as a friend, Stefan." He looked at her in surprise.

"Even if you were human, it wouldn't change anything." Stefan pointed out. "Even if I hadn't found out about this, I'd always be your friend, Elena." The two of them looked at each other. Even though they were different, they felt as though they really understood each other.


	15. Help From a Friend Part I

At the Boarding House, Stefan woke up when he heard something moving in the house. He got up and went into the hall. The door was closed, but he could've sworn he'd heard it open. "Hello?" He asked. There was no answer. He looked around. Suddenly, someone jumped on him from behind. He fell to the ground, surprised.

"Oops. I keep forgetting you're not as strong as most guys." He looked up and saw a blonde girl wearing a denim jacket.

"Lexi?"

"Hi, Stef." The girl said, hugging him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to surprise you. I'm in town for the day." Lexi told him. "Plus, the door was unlocked."

"I'm really glad to see you."

"Happy birthday."

The two of them headed up to Stefan's room. "So, the last time I tried karate with that guy, I took him down. He was impressed." Lexi was telling him.

"I always knew he talked a big game and could never back it up." Stefan said. "Speaking of which, did you hear about what happened at the Founder's party?"

"Yeah, but I'm only here for today. My boyfriend's taking me out to a concert this weekend." Lexi told him.

"Remember that time where we ended up double-dating with the two siblings?"

"Yeah, that was the weirdest date I'd ever been on." Lexi pointed out. "So, what's with this new girl you've told me about?"

"Her name's Elena." Stefan pointed out.

"I just hope she's not like the last girl you got hung up over."

"You transferred schools a month after she left." Stefan pointed out. "You didn't even know her."

"If I did meet her, I'd kick her ass for what she did to you." Lexi said. "Even harder than when I hunted down that idiot last week. Speaking of which, where's your brother?"

"He's probably gone out by now." Stefan told her. "I have to check on something. Will you be okay here alone?"

"Of course." Lexi told him. "Besides, not like there's really much to do in this little town."

"You're protected, right?"

"I never leave home without this." Lexi pointed out, touching the necklace she was wearing. (A/N: It is not the same one as Elena's in the show, it's a different one)

Stefan started to leave, but then he turned back. "Hey, Lexi? I'm glad you came today. "

"What are friends for, Stef?" Lexi pointed out.

At the park, Stefan ran into Matt on his way. "Hey."

"Hey, whatever you did to help Vicki, thanks." Matt told him. "She seems a lot better now."

"It was nothing." Stefan told him, even though he had no idea what Matt was talking about.

"I've gotta go. Running through practice with some of the guys. Later." Matt left. Stefan kept walking until he found Elena sitting on one of the benches.

"Hey. I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Jeremy's still taking it kind of hard." Elena told him.

"I'm sorry." Stefan said. It was all he could say about it. He wasn't sure how else to respond.

"I don't know if I can keep doing this." Elena admitted. "Every time I look at Jeremy, all I can think of is how this never would've happened if we hadn't been turned. And Matt is still clueless as to Vicki's sudden personality change. It's too much."

"Hey, the way I see it, you didn't have much of a choice but to make her forget."

"Look, I need to get home. I'll call if I'm ready to talk about this more clearly." Elena got up and left. Stefan watched her leave. He wished that he could do something to help her, the problem is he didn't know how.

Back at the Boarding House, Lexi was asleep on Stefan's bed. She heard something move and woke up to find Damon looking at her. She threw a pillow at him. "Really?"

"I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I came to visit my best friend. Is that such a crime?" Lexi said.

"How long are you staying?"

"Just for the day." Lexi told him. "Besides, it is Stef's B-day."

"Well, if anyone can cheer my brother up, it's you." Damon said.

"This coming from the guy who makes him feel miserable most of the time." Lexi said.

"That hurt."

"The truth does sometimes." Lexi pointed out. "But, I know you mean well." She looked out the window. "You guys should really bond sometime. Stef says you've been distant lately."

"It's been rough." Damon told her.

"Trust me, you don't know what it's like until someone's…" Lexi didn't finish her statement. Instead, she just walked out of the room.

Bonnie was packing her stuff at her Gram's house. "You leaving?"

"I have to. Dad doesn't like when I stay here too long." Bonnie pointed out.

"He just doesn't trust me very much." She noticed the crystal on the table. "You should wear that."

"It doesn't belong to me." Bonnie pointed out.

"It was your ancestor's, so it does belong to you." Sheila attached the necklace to her granddaughter's neck.

"Why don't you wear it? I mean, Emily's your family, too."

"It didn't find me, it found you." Sheila pointed out. "A witch's talisman is powerful. You shouldn't give it to just anyone."

"I still think I should give it back." Bonnie admitted. "It doesn't feel right wearing it."

At home, Elena and Jeremy sat next to each other. "Will this ever get easier?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know." Elena told him. "But, we did the right thing."

"I get that. It doesn't make it hurt less, though." Jeremy said.

"Well, there has to be something we can do." Elena said. "Maybe we should focus on our schoolwork." Jeremy looked at her.

"What's the point? We're already behind in class."

"No, you're behind in class." Elena said.

"Well, guess it beats sitting around being miserable." Jeremy said, getting up. Elena headed up to her room. She ended up lying down looking at the ceiling. Bonnie came in a few minutes later.

"You up?"

"No." Elena said. Bonnie sat down next to her.

"You haven't called back." Bonnie said. "I got worried."

"Sorry." Elena said.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked.

"I've been having a very bad week." Elena told her. "I've been trying to avoid Stefan."

"Why?"

"There's just too much going on." Elena said. "Too much I can begin to explain."

"I'm sorry. I'm always busy when you need me the most." Bonnie said. "Is there something I can do?"

"Unless you can get my mind off this…" Elena began.

"I think I know a way." Bonnie said. She ripped open one of the pillows.

"Hey!"

"First, I need to swear you to secrecy."

"Great. Like I haven't got enough to worry about." Elena said.

"Please, I'm not supposed to be showing you this."

"Okay, I swear."

"There's no open windows, right?" Bonnie asked.

"No." Elena said.

"No fan either."

"What are you…" Elena began.

"I just learned this from Grams." Bonnie told her. She put her hand over one of the feathers and it levitated. She set it down before levitating a several of them at once. They surrounded Elena.

"Oh, my God!" Elena said.

"It's true, Elena. Everything my Grams told me. I'm a witch."

"I believe you." Elena said, remembering she wasn't supposed to know she was a witch. That meant Bonnie couldn't find out that she knew her secret long before she did.

Outside, Caroline ran into Damon. "Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something." Damon told her. "I want to do something for Stefan's birthday tonight."

"Well, we could try throwing a party at the Grill." Caroline suggested. "I know it sounds kind of lame, but…"

"Hey, I'm willing to try anything." He told her. "Anyway, Bonnie told me she got the crystal from you."

"I can get it back from her." Caroline told him.

"I'm not going to force you to do that, Caroline."

"I know, but I feel bad for giving it to her without your permission."

At the Boarding House, Lexi and Stefan were in the living room. "From what I'm hearing, it sounds like this Elena is either in denial or fighting it." Lexi said. "And apparently, so are you."

"This isn't about me." Stefan pointed out. "I don't want to push her into something she's uncomfortable with. Besides, we don't think it'll work right now anyway."

"Please, you are in serious denial." Lexi said. "So, what are we doing tonight?"

"Actually, I had an idea about that." They both looked up as Damon came into the room.

"Care to tell us what it is?" Lexi asked.

"Caroline invited everyone to a party at the Grill."

"I don't know, Damon." Stefan said.

"I'm in." Lexi said. Stefan looked at her, surprised. "Well, there's nothing better to do." She pointed out.

Back in Elena's room, she and Bonnie were talking. "After all these times joking about being psychic. I really am a witch. Weird, right?"

"I've believed weirder things, trust me." Elena said. "But shouldn't you keep this a secret?"

"You're my best friend, I can't keep secrets from you." Bonnie told her. Elena felt guilty for not being able to tell her.

"I have a secret too." She said. "But I can't tell you. It's just not the right time and I don't know how you're gonna take it."

"It's okay, Elena. You don't have to tell me right now." Bonnie said. "I have to get back home, anyway. Caroline's been trying to reach me."

At the Boarding House, Lexi had finished changing clothes and went into Stefan's room. "I'm almost ready."

"You really think this is a good idea?" Stefan asked her.

"Since when do you turn down a good party?" Lexi pointed out.

"It's just that everything's been a little off lately." Stefan pointed out.

"Who cares?" Lexi said. "At least you're brother's trying to reach out to you for once. The least we can do is go with it."

"Alright, you won me over." Lexi decided to leave the room at that point.

Elena arrived at the Boarding House. She knocked on the door. "It's open." An unfamiliar voice called. She entered the house and found Lexi. The blonde girl turned around and noticed her. She looked at her carefully. "How did…who are you?"

"My name's Elena. Who are you?"

"Lexi. I'm a friend of Stefan's."

"Is he here?"

"He's in the shower." Lexi told her. "I'm sure he'll be out soon though."

"This was a bad idea." Elena said. She turned and headed for the door.

"I'll tell him you stopped by." Lexi offered.

"No, really. It's okay." Elena told her. She left the house.

Lexi headed back up to Stefan's room. "Okay, you left out some important details." Lexi said.

"What do you mean?" Stefan asked.

"You forgot to mention that the girl you're crushing on is a vampire." Lexi said.

**Sorry there's not much Stelena in this one, but I felt bringing Lexi in was important. You'll find out how she knows their secret next chapter. **


	16. Help From a Friend Part II

"So, how'd this happen?" Lexi asked him

"We met at school. And she's only been one for a few months." Stefan explained.

"Are you sure she's not lying?"

"Positive." Stefan told her. "This thing vibrates if they do." He showed her the ring he got from her.

"Is she any different from the last girl you fell for?"

"I am not comparing her to Katherine." Stefan told her. "They are two completely different people."

"I've heard that before."

"I'm serious." Lexi looked at him. She saw that he really was serious.

"So, Elena's not some manipulative little bitch?" She asked.

"No." Stefan told her. "Elena's different. She's down to earth and kind and it's almost like she's human. Around her, things feel normal. Even before I knew what she was, I felt a connection with her."

"Oh my god." Lexi looked at him. She was smiling. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"What? No, no. We're just friends." Stefan protested. "Besides, she's not ready for a relationship anyway."

"Yeah, but you can't deny how you feel about her." Lexi pointed out.

"Am I that obvious?" He asked.

"Yes."

At the Grill, Damon ran into Caroline. The place was full of people. "Some turnout, huh?"

"It was your idea." Damon pointed out.

"Still, it's nice that you want to do something for him." Caroline said. Damon noticed Lexi.

"I'll see you later." He walked over to his brother's best friend. "I thought you were coming with him."

"He said he'd meet me here." Lexi told him.

Elena heard a knock at the door. She was surprised to see Stefan waiting outside. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"Lexi told me you came by." Stefan told her. "You didn't seemed upset earlier."

"The girl dressed like a…" Elena stopped herself. She couldn't believe how jealous she sounded.

"What do you…oh." Stefan laughed. "It's not like that at all. Lexi's from my old school and she's my best friend. There's nothing romantic between us. Ever."

"Oh." Elena said. "She kept looking at me."

"Well, I've talked to her about you, guess she wants to make sure you're okay. Why'd you come over earlier?"

"I don't know." Elena said. She started to go back inside. Stefan grabbed her wrist.

"Elena, you can tell me."

"Stefan, I can't. That's the problem." Elena said. "I've kept this secret so long, and others, and I can't even tell my best friend mine and that I've also known hers. Do you see where I'm at here? I need to talk to someone, and since you and Jer are the only ones who know…"

"Hey, it's okay." Stefan told her. "You can talk to me about anything. You know that."

"Thanks." Elena said. "I needed that."

"You need a ride to the Grill?"

"You're going to Caroline's party?" Elena asked.

"Lexi talked me into it and it's my birthday."

"Really?" Elena asked. "Well, Jer and I were planning to stay in, but we might stop by." She turned to go back inside, then turned around. "Happy birthday, Stefan."

"Thank you." She went into the house. She had no idea what was going on with her. It felt like her emotions were a complete mess right now.

At the party, Caroline met up with Bonnie. "Hey, I was wondering when you'd get here." Caroline told her. "I'm really sorry about this, but can I have the necklace back?"

"I'm sorry. I can't give it back to you." Bonnie said, remembering what her Grams told her about it being a family heirloom.

"But it doesn't belong to either of us."

"I know, but I feel we should talk to Damon about it." Bonnie told her.

"You're right." Caroline said. "It was kinda my fault to begin with." She walked over to where Damon was sitting.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Bonnie wouldn't give up the necklace." Caroline told him. "I know it's my fault considering I gave it to her without asking you…"

"It's okay, Caroline." Damon told her. "Besides, it's pretty much useless without her help."

"I thought it was just a necklace."

"It is, but there's this legend connected to it saying that it sort of chooses its wearer." Damon recovered.

"Okay, you are so weird." Caroline walked away from him.

Lexi was next to Stefan. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you can't dance." She said.

"Actually, I really can't." He pointed out. "You know that."

"Okay, but you're not a bad dancer, either." Lexi shot back.

"How do you always talk me into this?"

"I'm your best friend, that's how." Lexi told him.

Elena showed up just then, noticing them together. Jeremy went over to talk with Matt. Damon walked over to Elena. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"He seems happy." Elena said.

"Yeah, guess who helped come up with the idea for this thing." Elena looked at him in shock.

"Wow. I guess you're not all bad." She said. The minute she said it, she realized she meant it.

"You think I'm the bad guy?"

"Well, you think I am, right?" Elena pointed out.

"I'm trying not to judge." He explained. "You don't seem like a bad guy to me."

"Well, I'm just trying to find a way so that Jeremy and I can get through this, graduate, and leave." Elena told him.

"That sounds like something anyone in high school would say."

"Well, because of the change, we'll have to leave soon after he's done at our school." Elena explained. "Think about it. We can't let Aunt Jenna know about this, plus they'd try to kill us."

"I'm not them, Elena."

"Prove it." Elena walked away from him. He stood there, stunned. She really didn't trust him at all.

Bonnie found Caroline. "Hey, he isn't mad at you, is he?"

"No, he was actually cool with it." Caroline said. "He also said something about it only working in your hands. Weird, huh?"

"He said that?" Bonnie asked, surprised. There was no way he could know her family's secret.

"Yeah."

"What else did he say about it?" Bonnie asked.

"That's about it. He did tell me a while back, though, that his family knew yours pretty well." Caroline walked away from her, leaving Bonnie in a state of shock.

Lexi looked over and noticed Elena looking at Stefan. She was keeping her distance from him. She went over to her. "Hey, Elena."

"Hi." Lexi sat down with her. "What are you doing?"

"You seemed upset. Figured we could use some girl talk."

"Okay."

"It doesn't matter that you're different, you know." Lexi said. Elena looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know I'm…" Elena began.

"Stef's my best friend, Elena." Lexi pointed out. "And my brother was turned."

"You have a brother?" Elena asked.

"I did." Lexi explained. "He died when our old house burned down. He helped me escape, and I met Stefan when I transferred over."

"Sorry about your brother." Elena said. "I had no idea you knew about…"

"Well, it's partly why we're friends." Lexi told her. "He helped me with training for a while."

"I don't know if I can do this." Elena admitted.

"Well, he talks a lot about you, in a good way." Lexi told her.

"You seem so sure this'll work. I dumped my old boyfriend partly because of this, but also because we kept arguing a lot." Elena explained.

"I know how hard it is with the heightened emotions and stuff." Lexi said. "My brother went through it, too. But your positive emotions are heightened, too, Elena."

"I'm scared. What if I can't control myself around him?"

"But you came here because of him, right?" Lexi pointed out. "I get it. I can tell that you're in love with him. I know he feels the same way." They looked over at him. Elena felt confused. She couldn't tell if she had feelings for him.

"Take it from someone who's been dating a long time." Lexi said. "Love really can conquer all." She got up to go over to Stefan.

"Hey, Lexi." Elena said. "Thanks. It was nice meeting you."

"You two looked like you were getting along."

"She's cool, but she's in denial." Lexi told him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stefan asked.

"I think you know."

Outside, Damon and the Sheriff were in the ally. He'd found a guy's body when he came out and had called her There was only one thing he knew: that it couldn't have been either of the Gilbert kids, because they were both inside the Grill the entire time. "So, what do you think?"

"It's serious. We're going to have to find out who did this before they strike again. Did you see anything?"

"No, I was just out walking and found him." Damon told her.

"We'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Let us know if you see anything." Sheriff Forbes said.

Inside, Elena walked over to Stefan. "Hey."

"Hey, you guys made it?"

"We didn't want to miss a great party." Elena said. Damon went over to Jeremy. She noticed and listened in.

"Hey, I hate to break it to you and your sister, but we've got a problem."

"What's up?" Jeremy asked.

"There's been an attack and I think whoever did it wants to frame you. As much as I hate to do this, the only way any of us stand a chance is if we team up."

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked her.

"Yeah, it's just, they found something." Elena told him. "I don't know how we're going to stop this guy."

Lexi went over to Damon. "Hey, what's going on? Things look kinda serious over here."

"It's nothing, really."

"I know, remember?" Lexi pointed out. "You can tell me."

"We've got a bit of a problem."

"You mean a…." Lexi began.

"See, that's why I don't tell you these things. The first thing you do is panic."

"At least Stefan's honest." Lexi told him. The Sheriff was standing near the back door. Suddenly, a guy came over to her.

"Don't move." He told her. He grabbed her arm. "Do as I say and I'll let you live. Unlike your stupid brother."

"You…" Before Lexi could say another word, he sped out of the Grill, taking her with him. The Sheriff tried to stop him, but he was too fast.

"Oh, god!"

"We'll handle this." The Sheriff told Damon. She turned to the deputies. "Make sure the front entrance is blocked. Don't let anyone in or out." She headed outside.

"Oh my god." Stefan said, realizing what happened.

"We've gotta do something." Elena said. She found Jeremy across the Grill. "Jer, come on!" She called to him.

"Excuse me." Stefan said.

"We can go out the back." Jeremy said. Almost as if everyone had silently agreed, all four of them ran out back of the Grill. In the quad across the street, they saw that the guy still had Lexi. The Sheriff showed up.

"Let go of me." Lexi said.

"Not a chance, princess." The vampire told her. The Sheriff tried to shoot at him, but he rushed at her and knocked her out of the way. However, in doing so, he had let go of Lexi. Instantly, Elena, Jeremy, Stefan, and Damon were at her side.

"I'm okay." Lexi told them. The vampire got her again, but this time, she was ready. She punched him in the arm, then kicked him in the stomach.

"Whoa." Jeremy said.

"How did you…" Damon started.

"You think I don't know how to get out of these situations by now?" Lexi asked. "You guys trained me, remember?" The vampire was getting up. The group looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement.

Jeremy tried to restrain him from behind, but was thrown off. Lexi took a stake out of her boot and handed it to Elena. Elena rushed at him from behind and tried to stake him, but missed and ended up staking him in the stomach. Stefan pulled her out of the way. "You okay?"

"He may not be dead, but that'll slow him down." Elena pointed out. "Stefan!" She pulled him behind her as he started getting up. Lexi was over by the Sheriff when it came toward her.

"Lexi!" Stefan called. Lexi picked up a stake that was lying on the ground and tossed it to Damon. He staked the vampire instantly. The Sheriff had woken up and noticed this last part. Lexi walked over to the group, slowly. "Lexi, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am." She said, smiling.

"That was pretty cool." Jeremy admitted. Damon was over by the Sheriff.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine." Sheriff Forbes told him. "Thank you." They looked at the body on the ground. "We better put him in the car."

"Got it."

Inside, the group was talking. "Stefan? You okay?" Elena asked.

"Fine. I'm just glad she's safe." Stefan said.

"It could've happened to anyone here." Lexi pointed out. "I'm just glad I have friends who know how to kick his butt."

"Well, we've had some practice, too." Jeremy told her.

"If he had done anything to you, I would've…" Stefan began.

"Hey, I would've taken him down, too. No one messes with our friends, right?" Damon pointed out. The group looked at him in surprise.

"I guess we can trust you." Elena said. "But if you turn against us…"

"Relax, I'll keep him in line." Stefan told her. They looked at each other. "I know how to deal with my brother."

"Thanks, Stefan."

"I haven't had this much fun since that class trip when…" Lexi started.

"I thought we agreed not to bring that up." Stefan pointed out.

"I might not like what you two are, but I will keep your secret." Damon told Elena and Jeremy. "Last thing we need is for this to get around. Besides, my brother likes you and I'm trying to be more supportive." He added.

"Thanks for everything, guys." Lexi told them. She got up.

"You're leaving?" Elena asked.

"I don't go to school in this town." Lexi pointed out.

"I'm really glad you stopped by." Stefan told her.

"Hey, relax. You lovebirds will see me again." Lexi told them. Elena and Stefan stared at her. "I'll be back sooner than you think. Of course, that's if I can get out of that research internship they forced me into." She headed to the door and waved to them before walking out.

"Hey, she's your best friend." Damon pointed out.

"I know." Stefan said.

"She's really cool." Elena said.

"You're pretty cool yourself, Elena." Stefan told her.

"Thanks." She thought about what Lexi had told her earlier. Did she really care about Stefan as more than a friend? Stefan remembered what she'd told him about Elena fighting her feelings.

"Are we just going to sit here all night? Cause everyone's leaving." Jeremy said, jerking everyone from their thoughts.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." Stefan told Elena.

"I'll look forward to it." She said. The group left the Grill. Little did they know, the next few days were going to change everything.


	17. The Necklace's Power

At school, Elena was talking with Caroline. "Have you guys talked about it?"

"Yeah, and it's really weird." Caroline said. "Once I told her what he told me, she nearly panicked."

"What's it about, anyway?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. Something about how the necklace works only if a certain person has it." Caroline said. "It's weird, isn't it?" Elena seemed surprised for a moment, but she shrugged it off.

"Yeah, strange." Elena said. She made a mental note to ask Stefan if he knew anything about it.

"So, where's Stefan?" Caroline asked.

"He called and said he'd be running late today." Elena told her.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask." Elena said. "I'll see you later." She turned to head to history class.

In history class, Elena noticed Bonnie. She looked scared. "Are you okay?" Bonnie nodded, indicating this wasn't the time or place to talk about it. A man stepped into the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Alaric Saltzman. I'm the new history teacher."

"Yeah, like that wasn't obvious." Elena heard Bonnie whisper. She tried not to laugh, since they were in class and she didn't want everyone staring at her.

In the courtyard, they spoke more openly. Bonnie explained she was having dreams "And then I ended up at the remains of the old Fell's Church before I woke up back in the woods." She finished.

"And you always see Emily?" Elena asked.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Bonnie asked her.

"Anything's possible." Elena said.

"I think I'm being haunted."

"But why Emily?" Elena asked.

"Grams said she was a powerful witch when she was alive. This necklace belonged to her, a witch's talisman." Bonnie explained.

"And you started having them when you got the necklace?"

"I think she's using it to communicate with me." Bonnie said.

"What does Grams say about it?"

"I can't call her. She's going to tell me to embrace it." Bonnie pointed out. "I don't want to embrace it. I want it to stop." Elena felt bad for her. She hadn't wanted to be a vampire, but it happened.

"Sometimes, there are just some things you can't help that are part of you, Bonnie." She told her sympathetically.

"I get it. I have to go to class." Bonnie told her. "I'll see you later." She walked off.

"Everything okay?" Elena looked around and found Stefan standing at a nearby tree.

In the classroom, Jeremy showed up. "Hey, Mr. Saltzman. I'm Jeremy Gilbert. You wanted to see me?"

"Your old teacher kept a file of old grades. It looks like yours have slipped in the past few months." Alaric told him.

"It's been rough, since I've had to deal with some changes." Jeremy told him. "But I've been trying to turn it around."

"I've noticed, but it's still pretty bad. How do you feel about extra credit?"

"Sure, no problem." Jeremy said.

"Okay, then do a paper on local history. These old towns probably have facts no one else even knows about."

"I'm on it." Jeremy said. "Nice ring." He noticed it looked familiar, but couldn't tell where he'd seen it before.

"Thanks. I got it from family. You have a week to finish the assignment." Alaric told him, getting it back on topic.

Outside, Elena was talking with Stefan. "I was starting to think you were ditching class." Elena said.

"Yeah, I got your text message. I would've been here sooner, but meeting with the guidance counselor took longer than I thought."

"Let me guess, bad grades?"

"No, just having trouble in one of the classes."

"I could tutor you sometime." Elena said before she even realized she'd said it out loud.

"I don't know if I have time to fit it in. But if I fail, I'm off the team, so I guess I could use your help."

"Thanks."

"I'll see you after school." He told her.

Bonnie was walking toward the parking lot, when she ran into Damon. "You scared me."

"Sorry about that, but I need your help."

"For what?" Bonnie asked.

"You're the only one who can use that necklace."

"Yeah, you can keep the stupid necklace. I don't care." Bonnie told him.

"Look, I want to help you. I understand you've been having dreams lately. About Emily." Damon explained.

"How do you know about that?" Bonnie asked.

"I know a lot. I know she's using the crystal to communicate with you." Damon told her. "I know how scared you are, so I'm not going to bother you again." He turned to leave. "Tell her that I kept my promise to her." Bonnie just watched him leave. She was really confused now.

A few minutes later, she and Elena were driving home. "He really creeps me out sometimes." Bonnie said. "I have no idea what he wants."

"Maybe you should avoid him as much as possible." Elena said.

"I tried. He keeps showing up."

"Why don't you sleep over at my place tonight?" Elena suggested. "You probably shouldn't be alone." Bonnie suddenly pulled over and got out of the car. "Where are you going?" Bonnie tore off the necklace and threw it into the field. "Are you okay?"

"I am now." Bonnie said. "All of my problems started cause of that thing. I should've done that a lot sooner."

"What about Grams' advice?" Elena pointed out. She knew it was probably a bad idea not to follow it.

"Grams isn't the one being haunted by an old ghost, is she?" Bonnie pointed out.

"Okay." Elena decided to drop the subject around her. She had no idea what else to tell her.

A few hours later, Elena was sitting outside. Stefan walked over to her. "Thanks for coming." She told him. "It's getting serious."

"I had a feeling about that."

"He really freaked her out, Stefan." Elena told him.

"What would Damon want with Bonnie?"

"She has this necklace. Caroline got it from Damon, she gave it to Bonnie, and he keeps asking her to help him."

"All this started because of a necklace?" Stefan asked. He was skeptical about it.

"It belonged to one of Bonnie's ancestors. A great-aunt." Elena said. She started putting the pieces together. "A Bennett."

"Emily." Stefan realized. "She lived next door to Katherine. She let her stay with her when her parents went out of town. This explains a lot."

"Wait, you know about Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"At the car wash, she went into a trance and nearly set a car on fire." Stefan explained. "I promised to keep her secret."

"For some reason, he needs her help since she's the only one who can use the necklace." Elena said.

"What did it look like?"

"There was this antique setting with an amber crystal." Elena explained.

"I'm going to go talk with him." Stefan told her.

"Will he tell you?"

"I'll find a way to get it out of him." Stefan told her. He left. For some reason, Elena felt nervous that he was going to talk with him. What if it didn't work?

At the Grill, Jenna and Jeremy were talking about the research paper. "So, what's the topic?"

"I haven't decided yet." Jeremy said. "I was thinking about using the history things that Dad boxed up."

"You really take after your father. He loved all that family history stuff." Jenna told him. Alaric came over to them.

"Hey, Mr. Saltzman."

"Jeremy. What's up?" He noticed Jenna.

"This is my Aunt Jenna."

"He was just telling me about the paper. Thanks for giving him another chance." Jenna told him.

"I think he has potential." Alaric told her. "I also wanted to make a good first impression."

Stefan found Damon sitting at the bar. "Bad day?"

"Sort of." Damon told him. "This supernatural stuff really gets me on edge sometimes."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really. Why are you so concerned all of a sudden?"

"I'm not." Stefan lied.

At Elena's house, the girls were all in the kitchen. "I'm sorry if I got you into trouble with the necklace." Caroline told Bonnie.

"Would you hate me if I said I threw it away?" Bonnie asked.

"You threw it away?"

"I know it was stupid, but the necklace was giving me nightmares. I had to get rid of it." Bonnie explained.

"You could've just given it back to Damon." Caroline pointed out.

"He's who we're trying to avoid right now." Elena reminded her.

"So, are we doing manicures or what?" Caroline asked. "Who has their kit?"

"Mine's in my bag."

"So, Elena. What's up with you and Stefan? Are you two together or not?"

"For the last time, we're not dating, Care." Elena said.

"Why are you such a liar, Bonnie?" Caroline suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Caroline!" The girls gasped in shock as she held up the same necklace that Bonnie threw into the field.


	18. No More Secrets

"I'm not lying, Caroline. I swear." Bonnie told her.

"It's true. I saw her throw it into the field." Elena said.

"Then how'd it end up here?" Caroline asked.

"Emily." Bonnie realized.

"Who's Emily?" Caroline asked.

"My ancestor. A ghost." Bonnie told her. "Why won't she leave me alone?" Elena looked at her sympathetically.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked. "I have no idea what's going on. You guys do this all the time."

"No, we don't." Elena said.

"Actually, she's right." Bonnie said. She turned to Caroline. "I can't talk to you. You haven't really listened to anyone in a while."

"That isn't true." Caroline protested.

"I'm a witch." Bonnie told her.

"Yeah, you've proven that." Caroline said. Elena looked at her, surprised at how cold Caroline was acting.

"See, that's exactly what I mean." Bonnie said. "I'm trying to tell you something. You don't even hear it." She walked out of the kitchen, frustrated.

"When have I not been listening?" Caroline asked Elena.

"Well, you haven't exactly been there for her when she needed help recently." Elena pointed out. She thought about how Bonnie just came out with her secret. She knew she had to be honest with her.

Back at the Grill, Jenna was talking with Alaric. "Jeremy just left for home."

"So how long have you been here?"

"Most of my life. I recently got back here." Jenna explained. "I left for school, but mostly because there was this jerk I dated. Not making that mistake again."

"What did he do?" Alaric asked.

"Usual stuff, cheated on me and lied about it. What about you?"

"Well, I used to be married. My wife disappeared." Alaric told her. Jenna looked at him. "I know. That usually ends the conversation."

"What happened?"

"That's what me and the rest of the North Carolina Police are wondering."

"So why did you move here?" Jenna asked.

"Well, I heard she grew up around here and figured she might be hiding in a town nearby. And I've heard that this place has a lot of history."

Elsewhere, the Salvatores were playing darts. "Man, you always win at this." Damon said.

"Some things take practice. You taught me that, remember?" Stefan pointed out.

"Okay, what are you up to? I can always tell when you're up to something, brother."

"I could ask you the same thing." Stefan said. "I heard about what happened. At school. She's completely freaked, Damon."

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Damon asked him.

At Elena's house, Bonnie was sitting in the living room when Caroline came out. "Bonnie, I'm sorry about that. I just don't believe in any of that stuff. But, that doesn't matter. You're my friend and you're right, I haven't been listening as much as I used to. But I'm listening now." Bonnie looked at her.

"Thanks. That means a lot."

"Elena, you can come in." Caroline called. Elena returned to the living room. She had listened in on everything she said. "I think I know what might help. Why don't we have a séance?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Bonnie said.

"I'm with Bonnie on this one." Elena said. She had no idea if it would work with someone who was technically dead helping them.

"Come on. This Emily girl has some serious explaining to do." Caroline said.

A few minutes later, the lights were turned off and they were sitting in a circle surrounded by candle light.

"What are we doing?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know." Elena admitted.

"Be quiet and concentrate." Caroline told them. "Close your eyes. Now take a deep breath." She instructed them. They did what she said. "Bonnie, call to her."

"Emily, you there?" Bonnie asked. They both turned to look at her.

"Really? That's all you got?" Caroline asked. "Come on." Bonnie tried again.

"Emily, I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen." The candle flickered, went out, and then went back on.

"Did that just…" Elena began. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it happen.

"Yeah, it just happened." Caroline said. Suddenly, it got cold in the room. Elena barely felt it, though she saw the others shivering.

"It's gotta be the air conditioning." Bonnie said.

"Ask her to show you a sign." Caroline told her. Bonnie was too scared to do anything again. "Emily, if your among us, show us another sign." Nothing happened.

"See, nothing's happening." Bonnie said. "I can't do this anymore. I'm done. Someone get the lights on!" Elena got up and switched the lights on. "Guys, the necklace is gone!" They all looked at each other.

At the park, the guys sat down. "Okay, what did you want to talk about?" Damon asked.

"What do you want with Katherine's crystal?" Stefan asked.

"That woman didn't tell you?"

"No, I was so mad at Katherine that I didn't really talk to her before she died." Stefan admitted.

"I planned on saving her, okay?" Damon told him.

Back at Elena's house, the girls were searching for the necklace. "Fun's over, Caroline. Give it back."

"What? I don't have it." They heard a sound. "What was that?"

"I don't know." Elena said. "Jeremy, is that you?" She called. Bonnie found the necklace in the bathroom.

"Guys…" Suddenly, the door slammed closed on her. "Guys, open the door! Help me!" Elena raced up the stairs. Caroline followed her.

"Bonnie, what's going on?" Elena asked.

"Bonnie!" Elena got worried as Bonnie started panicking. "Bonnie, unlock the door!" Caroline screamed.

"Bonnie!" Suddenly, the door opened. Bonnie looked at herself. "Oh, my God. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Bonnie told them.

"Unbelievable." Caroline said. "You completely tricked us."

"Caroline…" Elena began.

"No, you scared the hell out of me." Caroline walked away angrily.

"Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine." Bonnie told her as she stepped out of the room. Elena got the feeling that something wasn't right.

"What do you mean you planned on saving her?" Stefan asked.

"The day Katherine got taken away, I went to Emily." Damon told him. "I asked if she had any idea where they were taking her and if it was possible to save her. She explained there was a spell keeping some of the vampires locked in a tomb under the ruins of Fell's Church."

"You think that's where they took her?"

"The crystal was used to put up the spell, but it's also the only thing that can open the door."

"Think she's still alive?"

"Probably. She did study the supernatural, you know." Damon pointed out. "However, before she died, Emily lost the crystal. I found it the night of that party, then Caroline found it, and now Bonnie has it."

"What else did Emily tell you?" Stefan asked.

"That's it. The only other thing she told me was that it only works in the hands of another Bennett witch."

"That's why you went to Bonnie earlier."

"I never meant to freak her out. I had no idea she was still new at all this."

Back at Elena's house, Bonnie was walking away from them. "I can't believe you tricked us like that." Caroline said.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"I have to go." She told her.

"She's leaving and so am I." Caroline said.

"You guys can't leave." Elena protested.

"I can. I've had enough of this fake witch stuff for one night." Caroline told her.

"Thank you for calling me. I'll handle things from here." Bonnie told them.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"Where I have to." She headed downstairs.

"Bonnie?" The realization hit Elena in that instant. "Oh, my God. Emily!"

Bonnie looked up at them. "I have to destroy it. There's no other way." She headed out the door. Elena and Caroline went to follow her.

"Wait!" The door slammed closed on them.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know. It won't open." Elena said. She tried using her strength to open it, but even that didn't work. Suddenly, it opened and Jeremy came in.

"Whoa. You alright?"

"I'm outta here." Caroline left.

"I think we have a problem." Elena said. She explained that Bonnie was possessed and had no idea where she was headed.

"We better call Stefan." Jeremy said. "I'll try to help."

A few minutes later, Elena was on the phone with Stefan. "Elena? What's going on?"

"It's Bonnie." Elena explained. "Emily's possessed her. She said something."

"What was it?"

"She said she had to destroy the necklace. That it was the only way to handle things." Elena said. "Then she left."

"Where did she go?"

"I have no idea." Elena admitted. Then she remembered what Bonnie told her about her dreams. "The ruins of Fell's Church. Near the cemetery. That's where she led her in her dreams. I don't know how long she'll be like this."

"Relax, we'll find her." Stefan told her.

"Jeremy, come on." Elena said. She headed to the door and paused. "Bonnie trusted me with her secret. Do you think we can trust her with ours?" She knew what she was asking was big.

"Bonnie is our friend and we need someone to talk to about it." Jeremy said. "I mean, besides the Salvatores."

"Thank you, Jer." Elena said.

"If she's really your friend, she'll get over the shock." Jeremy added.

"I hope you're right, Jeremy." They headed outside.

At the ruins, Emily was still in Bonnie. She turned when she heard a twig snap. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not who you think I am, Damon."

"Emily. I should've known."

"I need to protect my family." Emily told him. "I'm sorry." She pushed him back with her powers.

"Looks like someone's gotten stronger." Damon commented, impressed she was able to use her abilities while possessing Bonnie. Emily looked up as another figure appeared.

"Stefan."

"Hello, Emily."

"These people should never know such evil." Emily told them.

"What do you mean by evil?" Stefan asked. He turned to Damon.

"Don't look at me. This is the first I've heard of it." He protested.

"I can't let you risk unleashing them into the world." Emily explained.

"Oh, god. I never thought of that." Damon looked away from her.

"What's going on, Emily?" Stefan asked.

"If the door is opened, they could all get free." Emily explained. Then Stefan realized it.

"The vampires…they're locked in there with her, aren't they?"

"She may be alright, but it's too great a risk."

"Isn't there someway we can eliminate them and save her?" Damon asked.

"Damon, don't you get it? If we open the door, then there will be like fifty vampires out, possibly looking for revenge." Stefan pointed out. Damon looked at him.

"We have to protect the town." He got up. "Emily, go ahead. Do it."

"You are a very noble man, Damon Salvatore." Emily told him. She finished setting up the pentagram on the ground. "Incendia." The ring lit on fire. At that moment, Elena and Jeremy showed up. The group watched as she threw the necklace into the fire, destroying it.

"Bonnie!" Elena called out. Suddenly, her friend collapsed to the ground, hitting her head on the impact. The group surrounded her instantly. Her forehead has a small spot of blood forming. Damon turned away, suddenly feeling like he was going to be sick.

"Oh, no. Is she…" Stefan began.

"She's alive, but she might not be for long." Elena said. He got out his phone to call the hospital. "That won't be necessary." She bit into her wrist and gave her blood to Bonnie. He watched as the injury slowly started healing.

"That's amazing."

"Guess it's one of the bright sides to this." Jeremy said. He went over to Damon. "I know how hard this is. It wasn't easy for me to give Vicki the life she deserved, but it was the right thing to do."

"I just won't believe she might be dead. Anyway, I'm getting out of here. It's been a very weird night." He got up and left.

Elena was talking with Bonnie. "What happened? I remember seeing you guys and then blacking out." Bonnie told him.

"How do you feel? Are you okay?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine. It's just…" She touched her forehead, where her injury was gone. "That's weird. I thought I was bleeding."

"You're okay now, though." Stefan told her.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Bonnie asked them. The group looked to each other.

"There's something you should know about me." Elena said. "But not here. Let's get back home first." Bonnie got into the car.

"Will she become a…" Stefan began.

"No, she'd have to die for that to happen." Elena said. "That's why we're keeping an eye on her tonight. Once it leaves her system, she should be okay." She sighed.

"What is it?"

"I have to tell her about me." Elena said. "I need her to know. After all, she trusted me with hers."

"Are you sure about this?" Stefan asked.

"No, but I can't hide it anymore." Elena told him. "Stefan, can you come with us? It'd be nice to have some support when I explain everything to her."

"I should probably get home, but I guess I can help you out first." Stefan told her. The group headed back to Elena's house. Jeremy and Stefan were with her as she explained everything to Bonnie.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you this before, but I was afraid we wouldn't be friends anymore." Elena told her.

"I always knew there was something different after the accident, but I thought it was just because you were still upset about it." Bonnie said. "But to find out your best friend is not only dead, but a vampire? I have no idea what to say."

"I never wanted to be like this, Bonnie. But I can't change it."

"Elena…" The two of them held each other. Bonnie was still in shock over the whole vampire thing, but she knew that Elena was still Elena.


	19. A New Understanding

A few days later, before school, Elena noticed Jeremy sketching in his notebook. She headed downstairs and found Jenna. "Jeremy's got his sketchpad out."

"Are you serious?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah, but don't say anything. As soon as we encourage him, he'll put it away."

"Don't worry, I am an expert on reverse psychology." Jenna told her. Elena laughed. "So, how are things with you and Stefan?"

"We're okay." Elena said. "I mean, he's a really good friend and all, but that's pretty much it."

"That sounds kinda boring."

As much as Elena hated to admit it, her aunt was right. "I don't know how I feel around him, honestly." She told her.

"At least he's not a jerk, unlike my ex." Jenna said. "Speaking of which, he's back in town."

"What did you just say?" Elena asked. The last memory she had of Logan Fell was not a good one. He tried to kill her brother, so she had killed him in order to save him and Vicki. So then how in the world was he still around.

At the Boarding House, Stefan was starting to leave for school. "Hey, I'm sorry about Katherine." He told his brother.

"Hey, if it's between the town and the girl I care about, I know which side I'm on." Then there was a knock at the door. Stefan answered it.

"I'm here to see Damon." Sheriff Forbes told him.

"Okay."

"Sheriff, what's going on?" Damon asked.

"Sorry to bother you, but we need to talk." He led the Sheriff inside while Stefan left for school.

"So, what is it?" Damon asked.

"There's been another attack." Sheriff Forbes told him. "Female victim, drained of blood. It's the same pattern."

"I'm sorry, it's just, I thought we solved this problem after I staked that guy from the Grill."

"I think he may have turned someone or possibly others." The Sheriff said. "The cover is that it was another animal attack, but I don't know how long we can keep lying to them. The council is in an uproar. We thought we were passed this."

"So, what do we do?"

"You're the only one who has ever taken on a vampire. We were hoping you could tell us." Sheriff Forbes told him.

At school, Elena noticed Caroline and Matt together. "Did I miss something?" She asked Bonnie.

"They've been hanging out." Bonnie said.

"That's kind of weird, considering they're complete opposites." Elena pointed out.

"Well, he helped cover for her during that party after she drank too much." Bonnie said. "Besides, it's better than having her obsess over Damon."

"How are you doing?" Elena asked. "I mean since…"

"It's still a lot to take in, I mean you kept this from me. But I'm also grateful to you." Bonnie said. "You saved my life that night."

"You're my best friend, Bonnie. I'd never leave you for dead." Elena pointed out.

"So, how are you and Stefan doing?"

"I don't know. I mean, he's a great guy and all, but I'm so confused about things."

"You're still in denial." Bonnie told her.

"What? No, it's just. I really like him, but I don't know if I'll be able to control myself around him." Elena explained. "What if I accidentally hurt him, or worse?"

"I'm still hearing that you're too scared to make a move."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"Look, maybe you're right and this is for the best. I mean, what kind of future can you have with him?" Bonnie asked. Suddenly, a banner fell from the ceiling.

"Did you just…"

"No, I swear." Bonnie protested.

Stefan was on the phone with Damon. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. There's gotta be another vampire in town. I mean, unless you're girlfriend's started killing people."

"A-she wouldn't do that. And B-She's not my girlfriend!" Everyone turned to look at Stefan. Luckily, Elena wasn't around where he was.

"Well, they probably didn't, since you were with them last night."

"So, then who is it?"

"I don't know. But I'll investigate. Trust me on this one, Stef." He hung up the phone.

Outside, Elena was walking when she noticed him. "Stefan?"

"We need to talk about something." He told her.

They sat together and he told her what was going on. "Any idea who it could be?" Elena asked.

"No, but someone found a body in the middle of the road."

"Then whoever did it must be new." Elena said. He looked at her. "Hey, I know from experience, but my brother and I adapted fast."

"Think they're trying to send a message?"

"That, or they're lazy." Elena told him.

"And I know it wasn't you either of two, I was with you last night."

"So how do we figure this out?"

"Well, Damon's looking into it." Stefan told her.

"You two should be careful. If he's new, he could be dangerous and reckless." Then Elena realized who it was.

"I'll see you in class." Stefan told her. He headed back into the school, while she sat thinking things over.

Jeremy was at home, sketching. "What do you think?" He asked Jenna. She came over and saw the sketches.

"Kind of creepy."

"I found this old journal in dad's stuff a while back." Jeremy told her. He decided not to say anything about the day they were attacked. If their aunt ever found out, she'd freak.

"Yeah, I heard about it. Johnathan Gilbert. He was a writer, mostly horror." Jenna said.

"At the time, I thought he was a drunk or a lunatic." Jeremy said.

"He was a Gilbert, maybe it was both."

Outside a warehouse, Damon was looking at the watch that Jeremy let him borrow. It was pointing straight at the building, so he went inside. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see Logan Fell standing there. "You don't want to do this." He warned him.

"You deserve it."

"For what?"

"For siding with them." Logan told him.

"Technically, I'm not the one who killed you and for the record, you almost killed an innocent human that night, if I remember." Damon pointed out. "I'd say it's karma."

"I know about Jenna's niece and nephew." Logan said. "To be honest, I'm a little surprised they didn't show…" Suddenly, a figure blurred past him and punched him halfway across the room.

"You were saying?" Jeremy asked.

"Thanks, man." Damon said. "So, who turned you?"

"How should I know?" Logan said. "The last thing I remember, I was about to finish this kid and then his sister grabbed me. That's it until I woke up in the ground behind a used car dealership off highway four."

"Well, no one on the council liked you much anyway."

"Dude, heightened emotions, remember?" Jeremy told him. "And since he's such a hothead…"

"Oh, never thought of that." Damon said.

"Wait, my sister and I don't know who turned us, either." Jeremy realized.

"Someone must've done it, and I doubt it was one of you two kids." Logan said.

"Maybe we can figure it out together."

"I doubt that, Jeremy." Damon told him.

"One minute, I'm a small town on the rise news guy and next thing I know, I can't get into my house because my foot won't go through the door."

"You have to be invited in." Jeremy pointed out.

"I know. I live alone. I've been staying at the hotel." He told him. "All I can think about its blood and killing people. I can't stop killing people, I keep killing and I like it. I'm conflicted."

"I used to feel the same a few months ago." Jeremy said. "But I don't kill people. Not anymore."

"Hang on, the cops found a body." Damon said. Jeremy checked his wristwatch.

"Aw, man. I have to get back." Jeremy told Damon. "Can you handle things here?"

"You're talking to an expert on vampire hunting, kid." He told him. Jeremy left the warehouse as fast as he could.

"It's weird, being a vampire. All I think about is my ex-girlfriend."

"You probably still have feelings for her." Damon said. "I'm no expert on vampires, but I know a lot about people."

"Look, don't get me wrong, I still want revenge on you guys, but first, maybe I'll persuade my ex to help me."

"You leave her alone." Damon told him. "She has nothing to with any of this."

"Like you can stop me?" Logan sped out of the warehouse.

"I can try." Damon said. He walked over to his car and got his phone.

Students were walking around the school as career night went on. Jeremy noticed Vicki and Tyler looking at some of the drawings. He walked over to them. "Hey, guys."

"Hey."

"I didn't know you liked looking at art."

"Mattie and I always used to go to the art museum, when we were kids." Vicki told him. She flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"I think there's a wall panel over there." Tyler said. The two of them left. Jeremy looked at one of the drawings and saw Tyler's name on it.

Elena and Stefan were looking at the different career booths. "So, what do you want to become?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. Since my parents died, I considered joining the Founder's." Stefan told her. "Apart from that, though, I guess I want to be a doctor."

"Really? I never would've guessed." Elena said.

"I've always to help others, save lives. I guess you could say my mother inspired me."

"It's like they say, parents are our role models."

"What about you? What did you want to be?"

"I'm not sure." Elena admitted. "I haven't thought about it since my parents died."

"I'm sorry." Stefan told her. "I didn't…"

"It doesn't matter much. I'll have to leave town in a couple years, anyway." Elena said.

"Why would you…oh, right."

"I can't stay here, not with the Council around. I know your brother will protect our secret, but how long will it be before they notice I'm still a teen in five years?" Elena pointed out.

"Elena, I need to…" Stefan's words were cut off as Jenna showed up.

"Hide me." Jenna said.

"What's going on?" Elena asked. She sounded really worried.

"The scum Fell has landed."

"Logan's here?!" Elena asked, not even hiding her fear this time.

"Wait, Logan Fell?" Stefan asked. He was one of the few people who knew he was dead. Stefan looked at Elena. She seemed really scared.

It wasn't long before he found them. "Jenna, are you dodging me?"

"It's a form of self-preservation."

"Stefan, can you take Aunt Jenna somewhere else?" Elena asked.

"No problem." The two of them left.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked. "How are you even a…"

"That's what I'd like to know." Logan told her. "And judging from you're reaction, I'm guessing you have no clue, either."

"You'd be right."

"So, think you could convince your aunt to…"

"Let me get one thing straight: stay away from Aunt Jenna or you're gonna regret it." Elena told him. She stormed off down the hall. There was no way he was letting him near her aunt.

She headed down the hall and found Jenna. "Hey. When Logan stopped by, what did he say?"

"He's the usual Logan, charming, a little more maniac than usual. He kept trying to convince me to let him in." Jenna told her. Elena looked surprised. "What?"

"Okay, listen to me very carefully. Do not, under any circumstances, talk to him again. I'm serious, Jenna, like ever!" Elena told her. Luckily, Alaric showed up then.

"Hey Elena. Jenna."

"Hi, Mister Saltzman."

"Yeah I was hoping to see you tonight."

"Career nights the new bowling." Jenna said.

"Okay, excuse me." Elena left to go find Stefan.

Meanwhile, Stefan was talking to Damon on the phone. "Logan Fell got turned into a vampire. He was bad enough normal."

"How are you doing?"

"Fine. Except for the fact I have no idea where he is."

"That's no problem. He's here at the school." Stefan told him.

"What's he doing there?"

"Working the crowd."

"I'll be right there." Damon told him.

In the hallway, Jeremy found Tyler and Vicki. "Hey, I didn't know you drew." Jeremy said.

"Oh, yeah. Ty's been doing sketches since he was a kid." Vicki told him.

"Also, I needed an elective." Tyler pointed out.

"It's really good." Jeremy told him. "You know, I'm into drawing, too."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Guess you two have more in common than you think." Vicki said.

"Not really." Jeremy said. "I mean, besides the fact that Tyler had a crush on you long before we dated."

"Dude, seriously?" Tyler asked.

"You had a crush on me?" Vicki asked him.

"Yeah, I didn't want anyone to know about it though." Tyler told her. "Then you two started dating."

"Well, things worked out in the end." Vicki said. "Besides, I had a crush on you, too."

"So everything worked out, then." Jeremy said.

Elsewhere, Stefan and Elena were looking for Logan and ran into Matt. "Hey, guys."

"Have you seen Logan Fell, the news guy?" Elena asked him.

"Yeah, he just gave Caroline a ride home." Matt told them. Elena and Stefan looked at each other.

"Find Jer and tell him what happened." Elena told Stefan. "I'm going."

Outside, Tyler was with Vicki. "Are you okay?" He asked her. Jeremy was standing nearby, listening in.

"You're father doesn't like me very much, does he?" Vicki pointed out.

"My dad's a little judgemental."

"A little? Please, no guy would want their son to be going out with a recovering drug addict." Vicki said.

"Look, he doesn't know you. I'm not going to stop seeing you just because of what he says." Tyler told her. "Besides, it's not like we can't hang out at your place."

"I don't know. It'd be kinda awkward with Matt around."

"Right. But we can still meet outside of school, you know. We just have to be more careful so he doesn't get on our case."

"I really hate sneaking around."

"You used to do it all the time, though." Tyler pointed out.

"True." Jeremy headed back inside.

Outside, Elena spotted Logan's car heading down the road. She heard him threatening to turn Caroline, who was unconscious next to him. She ran over using her speed and stopped the car. Then, she grabbed Logan and threw him onto the ground below. She heard a gunshot and turned. She knew this wasn't the time to be thinking where in the world Damon got a gun with wooden bullets.

"Is she okay?" Damon asked.

"Yeah. I've got her." Elena told him. "I'm going to take her home."

"I can handle him." Elena ran off using her speed again.

"How can you side with them?" Logan asked him.

"I'm not siding with them, I just don't kill innocent people." Damon told him. "And you're far from innocent."

"I know a way to get in there without releasing them."

"You're lying. There is no other way." The Sheriff's car pulled up. Damon turned and noticed her. Unfortunately, Logan took the opportunity and slammed him against the car before speeding off.

"Where is she?" Sheriff Forbes asked.

"It's okay. My brother's taking her home." Damon told her. "He got away."

"We'll find him."

Back in the school hallway, Stefan was waiting for Elena to show up. She finally walked over to him. "Hey, is Caroline okay?" He asked her.

"She's fine. I took her home." Elena told him. "She doesn't know anything other than that Logan attacked her."

"Where is he?"

"Last I checked, your brother and the Sheriff were on it." Elena said. "Don't you see how dangerous things can get?"

"I understand, Elena. But that's not going to stop me from helping or being your friend." Stefan told her.

"You want me to give you a ride back?" Elena asked.

"Sure." The two of them left the school together.

Outside, Jeremy found Tyler. He looked serious. Vicki was sitting by him, looking concerned. "Hey, what's going on?" Jeremy asked.

"Not now, man."

"He got into a really intense argument with his father." Vicki explained. "I think it's because of me."

"Look, I don't think it's about you, Vic." Jeremy told her. "This was between him and his dad. Is it always like that with him?"

"Sometimes."

"It's just hard, you know?" Tyler said, addressing them. "But I don't need anyone to pity me."

"No, what you need are friends that'll help you get through things like this." Jeremy said.

"You should just go." Tyler said. "I need to be on my own for a while." He walked away from them.

"He needs to cool off." Vicki explained. "He and Mr. Lockwood don't get along so well."

"I didn't know it was that bad." Jeremy said.

"How could anyone have known? You two are similar when you're upset." Vicki said. "Not that I mean to compare you guys, but he keeps to himself sometimes."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yeah. I better find Matt."

Elena pulled up to the driveway at the Boarding House. "About earlier, before Logan showed up at the school, you were saying something."

"It's nothing." Stefan told her. "Just forget it."

"Before my parents died, I wanted to be a writer." Elena said. "My mom supported and encouraged me ever since I could read. She got me my first journal. When she died, I just couldn't picture myself being a writer anymore. It was something between us, you know?"

"Yeah. I get it."

"Look, I never asked for this kind of life, but it happened." Elena said. "I can't change what I am, just like how my best friend can't change being a witch. It just is."

"Look, I don't care about any of that." Stefan told her. "Nothing is going to stop me from being your friend." They got out of the car.

"You know, when you become a vampire, all you're feelings are heightened, not just the bad ones." Elena explained. "I can't believe I didn't realize it earlier."

"What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying, Stefan, is that I think I'm in love with you." Elena told him. He looked at her. He seemed surprised. "I know it's complicated and that it probably won't work, but I can't help how I…"

"Elena…"

"I'm don't know what…" She couldn't finish the sentence. Because the next thing she knew, his lips were on hers. Slowly, she found herself kissing him back. It wasn't long before they broke apart. Elena felt herself changing and turned around. All she could think was, why now?

"Elena?" Stefan asked.

"Don't look at me." She told him. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

"It can't be that bad." He said. Slowly and reluctantly, Elena turned around. Her eyes had turned red and there were veins underneath. Stefan ran his hand over her cheek.

"I've seen worse." He told her before kissing her again. When he pulled away, she returned to normal, looking surprised.

"You wanna talk inside? It's kind of awkward out here."

"No problem." The two of them headed into the Boarding House, holding hands.

Outside, Damon and Sheriff Forbes were still out looking. "Wait." He said. They found Logan Fell in the middle of the road, greyed with a stake in his chest.

"He's dead. I don't know how we would've handled this one." Sheriff Forbes said.

"We better get him out of here before someone sees him." Damon pointed out.

"Right." While they worked with the deputies to get rid of the body, Damon couldn't help but wonder who killed him.


	20. Elena's Mystery Stalker

Elena and Stefan were sitting in the living room of the Boarding House. "So, let me get this straight. You had a crush on me since school started?" Elena asked.

"Well, yeah." Stefan told her. "I've never met anyone who I could relate to before, about my parents and school."

"Don't forget writing. I remember seeing you journal that day we met at the grave, too." Elena pointed out.

"It helps me remember them sometimes." Stefan explained. "It's kinda a family legacy in this house, too. My father used to keep one."

"Wow. We really are a lot alike." Elena said. She got up. "I should probably get back before Jenna starts wondering where I am."

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow." Stefan told her, escorting her to the door. "I love you, Elena."

"I love you, too." She got up on her toes and gently kissed him before heading back out to her car.

On her way back, she saw someone standing in the middle of the road. The next thing she knew, the car had been flipped over and she was stuck. She couldn't undo her seatbelt. She looked and saw that the person she hit had gotten back up and was headed toward her. She began to panic. Suddenly, he ran off.

Elena was confused, but figured something must've scared him off. She heard another car pull up. "Is someone there?" She called. She was surprised when Damon looked in the window.

"You okay in there?"

"Damon."

"What happened?"

"Later, my seatbelt's stuck." She told him.

"First, you need to calm down. I'll help you out of there." He said. Elena took a few deep breaths. Then she remembered and used her strength to get out of the seatbelt. "Okay, hang in there for a second." Damon grabbed her and pulled her out of the car. "I've got you." He set her on the ground. "Are you okay?"

Elena shook her head. She was shaken, but as far as physical injuries, she was fine. "We better get you back to our place. You look like you're about to collapse."

"Okay." Damon got her into his car and they headed back to the Boarding House.

At the library, Jeremy was doing a little research for his paper, when a girl sat down near him. "Hey, you're into studying myths as well?"

"I've kinda got a history paper due, so I wanted to do something interesting." Jeremy told her. "I'm Jeremy."

"Need any help?" The girl asked.

"It couldn't hurt."

"I'm Anna." The girl told him. "So, what do you need?"

"Local 1860s. You work here or something?" Jeremy asked.

"I do all my studying here. I'm home-schooled." Anna told him. "So, what's the topic?"

"The origin of the myths in this town." Jeremy told her.

"You mean the vampires?" Jeremy was surprised she knew about that.

"You believe in that stuff?"

"Well, my grandfather would tell me stories about them when I was little. They sort of passed down through his family." Anna explained.

"Yeah, I've read a few stories myself." Jeremy told her. Then he decided to cover it up. "I always thought they referred to the enemy soldiers though and used vampires as a comparison."

"Wow. You're really smart." Anna said. "You know, I found some old articles that might help. And my grandfather used to have this old journal, but it's been missing since he died."

"He had an old journal, too?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah."

"That's weird." Jeremy said. Anna came back with some articles.

"Here, I did some research on it the other day." Anna said. "Most of the attacks have occurred around this town for the past few decades. The victims suffered from blood loss."

"Cool." Jeremy said. "Hey, thanks for the help."

"It was nothing." Anna told him. "I'll see you around." She headed back over to the bookshelf.

Back at the Boarding House, Elena was sitting down in the living room. She was still shaken from earlier. She and Damon had explained to Stefan what happened. "I have no idea who he was, all I know was that he was definitely a vampire." Elena told him.

"Why would a vampire attack one of their own kind?" Stefan asked.

"Three reasons. A, revenge, B, they're just messing with us, or C, the most likely one, they don't know I'm not human."

"Do you remember anything about him?"

"He was wearing a hoodie. I never saw his face." Elena explained. She glanced at his wrist. He was still wearing the bracelet. "You guys better be careful."

"As long as we have these on, they can't control us." Stefan pointed out.

"I know, but still…we don't know what he's after, so we'd all better watch our backs." Elena said.

The following day at school, Jeremy was surprised to see he got an A on his history paper. "Surprised? It's a good essay." Alaric told him. "Your thoughts are clear, and your argument is well laid out. It's just, uh, you don't actually think there are vampires in Mystic Falls."

"Of course not." Jeremy said. "There are more kidnappings and animal attacks around the area, though. Then again, it could've happened anywhere."

"Interesting point." Jeremy turned to leave, but Alaric stopped him. "Oh, uh, Jeremy, the source that you cited for the 1860s info, uh, Jonathan Gilbert..."

"My ancestor's journal?" Jeremy asked. He seemed suspicious.

"I'd really like to see that sometime."

"I'm sorry, I can't." Jeremy told him. "It belonged to my father. I can't just give it away to anyone. I hope you understand."

"Yeah, I get it. I wouldn't blame you. If I had ever lost my father's belongings, I'd probably get in trouble, too."

"See you around." Jeremy said. He felt bad about lying, but he knew he couldn't just trust anyone with the journal.

At the Grill, Elena was talking with Bonnie. She'd explained the incident to her. "Why would he be after you, though?"

"I don't know. Maybe he thinks I'm some helpless victim or something. But I also don't know how much older or stronger he is." Elena said.

"The Elena I know wouldn't be into these stupid games." Bonnie pointed out. "Besides, you could probably take him down if you had to."

"You're right." Elena said. "I have to go to the store. My outfit for the dance is lacking accessories."

"See you later." Bonnie said. Elena left. As soon as Bonnie got up, she noticed Damon headed toward her. "What do you want?"

"I was just wanted to see how you were doing." Damon said.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." She tried to leave.

"I'm just concerned, okay? The last time I saw you, your forehead was bleeding." He pointed out.

"You know I could probably throw you across the room without touching you, right?" Bonnie asked.

"Hey, is everything okay over here?" A guy asked them.

"Yeah, we're okay." Damon told him.

"I wasn't asking you." The guy said. Damon walked away. He knew it would look really bad if they got into a fight.

"Thanks." Bonnie said.

"Anytime, Bonnie." The guy said.

"You remember me?"

"I didn't graduate that long ago, now."

"Sorry, Ben. I just didn't think you knew me." Bonnie told him. She felt herself blushing from embarrassment.

Elena was on her way to the car she borrowed from Aunt Jenna, when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hello, Elena." A voice on the other end said.

"Who is this?" She asked.

"You hit me with your car." Elena started looking around.

"If you know what's best for you, stay the hell away from me." Elena said. She hung up and got in her car, driving away from the area.

At the Boarding House, Elena was talking with Stefan about what had just went down. "Why the heck is this creep targeting me? What does he want?" Elena asked.

"I don't know, but some vampires can be tricky, Elena." Stefan told her. "Most of them like to surprise their enemies. I think this is yours." He handed her the watch. She was surprised he had it.

"This was in our Dad's things. How'd you get it?" Elena asked.

"I found it in Damon's room." Stefan said. "Jeremy let him borrow it the other night to find  
>the other vampire."<p>

"Hard to believe that back the old days, they'd use this thing to hunt people like me down." Elena said.

"That was when everyone thought all vampires were evil." Stefan told her. "But we both know that you're not. You should be really careful."

"I will." She leaned forward and kissed him lightly.

At the Grill, Jeremy was surprised when Anna came by. "Hey, how'd it go?"

"What?" Jeremy asked.

"The paper." She told him.

"I got an A. Thanks for the articles. They helped a lot." Jeremy told her.

"So, what'd he say about the vampires?" Anna asked. "Did he believe it?"

"I don't even believe it." Jeremy said. "It was just a research paper. Anyway, I should go."

"Hey, do you wanna hang out later or something?" Anna asked him.

"I can't, sorry. I'm on punch duty at the school dance."

"Oh. How'd you get stuck with that?"

"I'm failing a class, so I need to do something to raise the grade." Jeremy explained.

"Well, guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks for the help, anyway." Jeremy told her. "See you." He left the Grill, wondering how she knew about vampires.

At home, Jenna was talking with Elena. "I just spoke with the insurance company. Your car's totaled." She explained. "You can keep using mine for now."

"You coming to the dance?" Elena asked, glancing at the outfit her aunt was wearing.

"Alaric asked me to chaperone."

"Sometimes I wonder about my parents." Elena said. "If they'd know about these changes."

"Elena, there's something you should know…" Jenna began. Jeremy came in then.

"Hey, are you two ready?"

"I just need to change." Elena told him. "I'll talk to you later, Aunt Jenna." She headed upstairs to change into her outfit for the dance.

At the Boarding House, Stefan was reading through one of the journals again. He put it down as Damon came in. "I thought you'd be on your way to the dance by now. What are you looking for in their journal this time?"

"I was trying to see if there was another way to save her." Stefan told him. "Look, I know she meant a lot to you and I want to help."

"Why would you do this?"

"Because you're my brother and I hate seeing you like this." Stefan told him.

"What about the vampires trapped in there?"

"We'll find a way to get rid of them."

Elena headed downstairs after changing into her outfit from the dance. She paused and looked around. Something didn't feel right. "Jeremy?" She called. When she got no answer, she called Stefan's number.

"Hello?"

"Damon?" Elena was surprised.

"He's on his way to your place. He forgot his phone."

"Thanks." Elena hung up. She didn't notice, but the vampire from earlier was behind her. Quickly, she turned around as he jumped her. She screamed in surprise. Suddenly, Jeremy pushed him off her. He ran off.

"Oh, God! Elena, are you okay?"

"Why didn't you answer before?" Elena asked.

"I thought I heard something move downstairs. I didn't think he'd try to attack you." Jeremy explained.

"We better let the guys know about this." Elena told him.


	21. Fighting Back

In the living room of the Gilbert house, Elena was sitting with the guys. "Okay, first off, how did he get in?" Damon asked.

"He must've been invited in." Elena said.

"Aw, man." Everyone turned to Jeremy. "He disguised himself as the delivery guy last night. Aunt Jenna must've let him in."

"That's a new one, even to me." Damon said. "Did he say what he wanted?"

"He was too busy trying to kill me." Elena told him.

"And we've never seen a case like this before." Stefan said.

"This is going to be a tricky one if he's this smart." Damon said.

"You think he's working with someone?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know."

"Wait, Jer, he's been invited in." Elena realized. As soon as she said that, she knew he knew too.

"Jenna's in danger."

"Then we better take him out before he has a chance to get to her." Damon said.

"Are you sure about this?" Stefan asked.

"What's the plan, then?" Elena asked.

"We go to the dance and see if he shows up."

"That's your idea?" Stefan asked him.

"Until he's gone, Jenna's still in danger." Damon pointed out.

"There's no way he can take down all four of us." Elena said. "Let's do this."

The group showed up at the dance a few minutes later. Elena found Bonnie and Caroline. "Hey."

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Caroline said.

"Having fun?"

"No, but this took about two hours, so I'm staying at least half of that." Caroline told her.

"What's Damon doing here?" Bonnie asked.

"Coming here was actually his idea." Elena told her. She whispered something to Bonnie. She nodded, understanding.

"What is this, like, a threesome now?" Caroline asked. "You and the Salvatore brothers?"

"No, but if I'm going to be with Stefan, then I have to try to tolerate Damon." Elena said. "I mean, it's not like I can kill him or anything."

"It looks like you've got it all figured out." Bonnie said.

"I'm just saying, if you need me to straighten him out…"

"Care!" They both yelled.

"Just saying." Caroline put up her hands in surrender and took a step back.

Jeremy was watching the scene, listening from the punch table. He couldn't help but laugh a little, forgetting Elena could also hear him. "You know, sometimes I feel like other people are listening in on a private conversation." Elena said.

"Sorry." Jeremy focused his attention elsewhere. Elena headed over to the punch table to talk to him. Damon came over to the girls.

"Hi, Bonnie. Wanna dance?"

"No thanks." She said, she turned to leave.

"You're not scared, are you?"

"Leave her alone, Damon." Caroline said. She started to walk off with her, then turned back to him. "She has two left feet and it's a really uncomfortable subject for her." She left. Just then, Elena and Stefan returned.

"Where did they go?" Elena asked. She knew that Bonnie was leading Caroline somewhere else so she wouldn't get hurt.

"I don't know." Damon told her.

"What did you say this time?"

"What makes you think it was always something I…"

"Guys, really?" Elena asked. "This isn't going to work unless you put your arguing aside." The guys were still looking at each other. "Stefan, may I have this dance?" The two of them headed to the dance floor.

"Shouldn't you be able to sense if he's around?" Stefan asked as they danced.

"No, unfortunately, that's not one of our cool superpowers, as you put it." Elena explained. "Even vampires have trouble telling each other apart. All we can do is keep an eye out for him."

"Yeah, unless he's in costume." Stefan pointed out. Elena laughed as he spun her in.

At the punch table, Jeremy was surprised when Anna showed up. "You neglected to mention this was a theme party." She told him.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, since you didn't invite me, I thought I'd take matters into my own hands." Anna told him.

"Are you following me around?" Jeremy asked her.

"What?"

"It's like you think we're dating, and we're not."

"Oh, you mean stalking." Anna said. Jeremy nodded. "Come on, I've never been to a school dance before. Humor me."

Damon was standing near the edge of the gym, when Alaric noticed him. He walked over to him. "Hey, do I know you?" Damon turned to face him. Something about him seemed a little familiar, but he couldn't remember. "Sorry, it's just you looked familiar for a second. How'd you get roped into chaperoning?" Alaric asked. "Alaric Saltzman. I'm the new history teacher."

"I see. The cursed faculty position." They shook hands.

"So I've been told."

"Damon Salvatore."

"Salvatore? As in Stefan?"

"He's my little brother." Damon explained. "I'm his legal guardian, hence the chaperoning."

"I hear he's very bright." Alaric told him.

"He knows a lot about history." Damon said. "He's always throwing himself into his work. It helps him forget family stuff."

"Any parents?"

"It's just us now." Damon told him.

"So, you live here your whole life?"

"Yeah, though we used to go to a different school. Transferred over just this year."

"Do you do a lot of travelling?" Damon looked at him. That was a weird question. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry. It was nice meeting you."

"You, too."

"Enjoy the rest of the dance." Alaric told him before walking off. Damon couldn't help but wonder where he'd seen him before. He came up with nothing.

Anna was helping Jeremy out at the table. "You don't go to school here. You know, you don't have to help."

"I don't mind." Anna told him. "It's kinda fun." She turned to him. "Oh, before I forget, could I borrow you're ancestor's journal?"

"Why?" Jeremy asked. "I mean, it's just an old journal full of folklore and myths. Besides, I can't just give it away. Family history's important, you know?" He noticed something in Anna's eye. "Your eye." Anna turned away quickly.

"There's something in it. I should probably go." She walked off very quickly. Jeremy watched as she left. Was it possible she was a vampire, too?

Back on the dance floor, Elena was still with Stefan. There was still no sign of her attacker. "Maybe he's not gonna show." She said.

"You mean we did all this dancing for nothing?" Stefan asked.

"Ah. The horror." Elena joked..

"I'm really sorry about all this."

"It's my choice, Stefan. I decided to be here. I officially signed on for it, so I don't want to hear you apologizing." She said. As a new song came on, she added, "Besides, if anything, I should apologize to you for dragging you into all this mess in the first place."

"Are you kidding?" Stefan said. "I'd do this anytime if I had to. Even if you were normal." Elena wondered how she even got involved with this, but it didn't matter. She kissed him.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, she noticed someone in the back corner in a hoodie. "Stefan, the back corner."

"Find Damon and Jeremy." Stefan told her. Elena started to head over to Jeremy. Stefan went into the hall to find the guy.

"What did I do?"

"Where is he?" Stefan asked.

"I was getting a soda and this guy gave me his hoodie." Stefan ran back toward the gym.

Elena was still looking around when her phone rang. She answered. "Hello, Elena." She recognized the voice. It was him. "Here's what you're going to do. There's an exit behind you. You have five seconds."

"And if I refuse?" Elena asked.

"Your brother dies." She glanced around and found the guy standing behind Jeremy. "I can snap his neck so fast I bet there's not even a witness. Start walking."

"Leave him alone." Elena growled. Then she lowered her voice. "He's behind you."

Jeremy heard and turned around, but there was no one there. He did see the door behind him swinging back, though, as though someone tried to make a fast exit. Elena ran into the hallway and tried to escape, but the door was locked. She tried using her strength, but even that didn't work.

The vampire was behind her, so she ran. She found herself in the cafeteria. Suddenly, the vampire appeared and threw her back. He was strong to her surprise. She picked up two pencils that were lying on the ground, when he pinned her to the wall. Elena had had enough of his games, now it was her turn. She vamped out and threw him off of her. He looked up, surprised. He went to attack her, but she shoved the pencil into his arm, causing him pain.

She made a mental note to always carry pencils if they attacked at school. She tried to speed out, but he appeared in front of her. Before he could do anything, help had arrived. Jeremy through him off his sister. Elena broke off a wood mop handle and tossed it to Damon. He staked the vampire in the stomach. Stefan appeared by her side and held her as she nearly collapsed.

"You okay?" He whispered.

"Yeah, thanks for the back-up." Elena said.

"Okay, start talking." Damon said. He wouldn't say anything. Jeremy nodded to him. Damon moved to the side so that Jeremy was in front of the vampire.

"You better talk or I'll kill you." Jeremy said.

"Uh. Fine. Whatever." The vampire said weakly.

"Why are you doing this?" Jeremy asked.

"It's fun."

"Oh, right. Threatening my older vampire sister was real fun for us, you dick!"

"Jeremy!" Elena yelled as he pushed the stake in further.

"What do you want with Elena?" Stefan asked. Elena was holding onto him for support. The fight took more out of her than she thought.

"She looks like Katherine."

"What?" The group said in unison. They all looked at each other, equally confused.

"How..." Elena began.

"I didn't know anything about this, did you?" Stefan asked his brother.

"No idea." Damon said.

"Who's Katherine?" Jeremy asked.

"They're ex, long story, I'll explain later." Elena told him.

"Wait, does that mean…" Everyone was completely lost now. Damon regained his composure and turned to the vampire.

"How do you know she looks like Katherine?" He asked.

"You thought you were the only ones who knew her?" The vampire asked. "Besides, who do you think was sent to shut her in?"

"You…"

"Damon, please." Jeremy tried to restrain him. He shook him off.

"I'm fine. I'm good."

"Is there a way to get in without harming anyone in the process?" Jeremy asked.

"No. I won't say." He screamed in pain as Jeremy pulled on the stake again. "Okay, okay. The grimore."

"Where do we find it?" Stefan asked.

"You need the journal. Jonathan Gilbert's." The vampire gasped in pain.

"Who else is working with you?" Elena asked. She knew he wouldn't be this smart to do something this stupid.

"No. You're gonna have to kill me." Jeremy looked at Elena. She nodded and looked away as he finished the job.

"Well, now how do we find the others?" Damon asked.

"We had to kill him." Elena pointed out. "He'd been invited in."

"We'll find them, I know we will." Stefan said. They heard a sound then. They all turned, but whoever it was disappeared.

"I'll check it out." Jeremy said. He went into the hallway and saw no one around. Whoever it was had gotten away.

In the hallway, the guys were talking. "There's no way that idiot was working alone." Damon said.

"So, what did he mean by a grimore?" Stefan asked.

"It's a witch's spell book." Damon explained. "I don't know what else it means. Emily said she lost hers years ago."

"Wait, maybe that's what they need to reverse it." Stefan said. "Emily's grimore. You said yourself, only a powerful witch can open the tomb. Maybe the spell for opening the door's in there."

"Yeah, but now it's us verses how many other vampires out there."

"Okay, all we have to do is find it, get Katherine out, and make sure the vampires in there die." Stefan pointed out.

"Fine. But I still don't like where this is going."

"Wait, that vampire said you looked like Katherine, but there's no way you could be related." Jeremy said as he and Elena headed toward their house. Then a thought occurred to him. "Unless…"

"I know." Elena said. She went inside and found Jenna. "Am I adopted?" She asked.

"What?"

"Don't lie to me, Jenna. I need to know the truth. Am I adopted?"

"Your mother was going to tell you." Jenna told her. "A woman came in one night when your father was working late. She disappeared after you were born. All Miranda wanted was to be a mother. They kept it secret."

"That's a big secret." Elena said.

Later that night, she was upstairs with Stefan. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, though I'm still in shock over the adoption thing." Elena said. "On the other hand, I'm glad that creep's gone. It was hard fighting him alone."

"I wish you didn't have to fight."

"Hey, I do whatever I have to in order to protect the people I care about." Elena told him.

"Yeah, speaking of which, I told Damon I'd help him get Katherine out of the tomb." Stefan explained. "But I don't know if I can do this alone."

"I'll help you out." Elena told him. "As much as I hate to say this, I think it's the only way to help him."

"Thanks, Lena."


	22. The Journal's Secret

The next morning, Elena met with the guys at the Boarding House. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Glad to see you're here in one piece." Damon said.

"You know if you tick me off, I could easily end you, right?" Elena told him.

"Okay, enough, you two. We need to start planning our strategy." Stefan pointed out, breaking up the argument.

"Well, the first thing we need to do is find the journal."

"I can ask Jeremy." Elena said. "He was the last one to see it."

"How do we know if it'll even have the location of the grimore?" Stefan asked. "Are we really going to take the word of the guy who tried to kill us?"

"Do you see any other options?" Damon pointed out.

"Okay, what's a grimore, exactly?"

"It's basically a witch's spell book and journal. They record the results of their spells and what it takes to create them." Stefan said.

"How did you learn all that?" Damon asked.

"I've met Bonnie's grandmother. She told me." Stefan told him.

"Wow. She usually doesn't tell strangers." Elena said.

"She knew I was a friend of yours, so…" Elena nodded. "Anyway, what about our mystery vampire? Dimwit obviously wasn't working alone, so whoever's out there knows who we are."

"I know, but they won't be able to get in if we don't let them." Damon pointed out. "So we'll just start with finding the journal." He left the room.

"Is he always this way?"

"Mostly when he's focused on something." Stefan told her.

"Well, I should head back and start looking." Elena said. She turned to go. "You know, I could use some help."

"No problem." They left the house.

A few hours later, they were going through a box full of items. "Do you think he really trusts us?" Elena asked as she took out an old pendant she figured was dated around the eighteen hundreds.

"I'm not sure. Trust isn't something that comes easy to him, especially after these last few years." Stefan told her.

"I feel kind of bad for him. I know we lost our parents more recently than you guys, but still, being the only one to look out for your sibling is tough, especially when you're young." Elena said.

"He's gotten better at it, though. It's been about three, maybe four years since we lost them." Stefan pointed out. "He's still pretty distant, though. I can never tell what he's thinking, he can be unpredictable sometimes."

"What do you think will happen once the tomb is opened and he gets Katherine back?" Elena asked.

"I don't know." Stefan told her. He was looking at a picture.

"That's Jonathan Gilbert." Elena said. "One of our ancestors." Jeremy came downstairs.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"We're looking for that old journal that Dad had in here." Elena said.

"You mean Jonathan Gilbert's?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, how did you know about it?"

"I did my history paper on it." Jeremy told them. "I held onto it afterward cause I didn't want it falling into the wrong hands."

"Do you still have it?"

"Yeah, I can show it to you." Jeremy told her. The two of them headed upstairs. Jeremy handed her the journal. "Are you sure about all this? I mean, what if Damon decides to kill us or something?"

"That's not going to happen." Elena told him. "Besides, if he wanted us dead, he would've done it a long time ago."

"Still, I think we should be careful." Jeremy said.

When they got downstairs, they were surprised to see that Damon had shown up. "Dude, ever hear of knocking?" Jeremy asked.

"Your aunt let me in."

"Remind me to tell her to not let strangers into the house." Elena said. She glanced around the room. "Where'd Stefan go?"

"He went out a few minutes ago." Damon told her. "He should be back soon."

That evening, the group was still waiting. Elena was on the phone with Bonnie. She decided to leave the guys alone. She knew she was on a date. "Okay, I'm alone. What's going on?"

"It's going great." Bonnie told her. "He's a perfect gentleman."

"Really?"

"I know. Boring, right?" Bonnie said. "I just want to grab him and lay one on him."

"Why don't you?" Elena asked.

"Because I'm a chicken."

"You're a powerful witch goddess." Elena pointed out. "Come on, seize the day, Broom Hilda."

"Okay, I'll text you later with more details." Bonnie told her.

"Good luck." Elena said. She heard the door open downstairs.

"About time you got here." She heard Jeremy say.

"Give me a break, Jer." She headed downstairs. "I had to make sure I wasn't followed."

"He's got a point." Elena said as the guys turned to look at her. "I mean, we all know that idiot wasn't working alone. He could've had help."

"Isn't that why the four of us are stuck in this together?" Jeremy asked. "Because of him?"

"Five, Jeremy." Elena reminded him. "They need…" Jenna came into the room then.

"What's going on here?" She asked. The group turned to each other, not knowing what to say.

"Uh, can you give us a minute alone?" Elena asked them. The guys headed upstairs.

"So, you guys have been going through some family stuff, I see."

"We were trying to see if there was any information about my birth parents." Elena said.

"I don't know much, but your mom told me everything." Jenna told her. They sat down next to each other. "Your father was working late one night at the hospital. At the end of his shift, a young woman came in and she was about to give birth. He delivered her baby and gave her a place to stay, but a few days later she disappeared. At the time, your parents were trying to have a baby, but it wasn't working. And all Miranda wanted was to be a mother."

"I've looked at my birth certificate, though." Elena said. "It lists Miranda and Grayson as my parents."

"Your father was a doctor." Jenna pointed out. "He took care of it. They didn't want to lose you, so they kept it quiet and told as few people as possible."

"What else do you know about the girl that came in?" Elena asked.

"Only her name." Jenna said. "Isobel."

Elena met the group upstairs. They were starting to go over the journal. "So, find anything?"

"Nothing that we already don't know." Jeremy said. "I heard everything down there." He whispered.

"At least I know where to start now." Elena told him. She sat next to him and started reading. After a few minutes, she came across something. "Hey, can either of you read this? It looks like it's written in a different language."

"Let's see." Stefan said. He looked at it. "It's like nothing that I recognize."

"Wait, isn't that the sign for grave?" Jeremy asked , pointing at the picture beneath it.

"It's a prophecy." Elena realized, looking at the series of pictures under it.

"What do you think it means?" Damon asked.

"If I'm reading this thing right, it says the secret of the spell book will be protected by the person who will carry it to his grave." The group looked to each other. "I know where it is." Stefan realized.

"You guys go on." Jeremy said. "I think I'll stay here. If he did have help, we can't all go together. We don't know how many others there are."

"He's right, guys." Elena said. "Still, I'm going anyway. Someone's got to be able to help them if they find us."

"Be careful out there." Jeremy called as they left.

A few minutes later, the three of them were at the cemetery. "This place is really creepy at night." Elena said.

"I thought you were all into this stuff." Damon said.

"That's just some stupid stereotype." Elena said. "Vampires aren't into some gothic clique, well unless they already were a goth to begin with. We're not all into darkness and gloom you know."

"I was just saying." Damon said, backing away from her.

"Are you sure it's here?"

"If it's one thing I remember about our ancestor's journal, it's that a Salvatore would always carry any of his secrets to the grave." Stefan said.

"Yeah, though I never thought he meant it literally." Damon said.

"And I thought my family's history was weird." Elena said.

"Look, you don't have to do this if you don't want to." Stefan told her.

"No, I made a promise to help you guys." Elena said. "Besides, you're not the only ones who want to protect this town. This town's my home, everyone I care about is here." The guys looked at each other.

"Okay." Stefan said. The group got to work on digging up the grave. It took a long time, but finally Elena found it. She looked at the state of her clothes. They were covered in dirt.

"Man. This was new." She said.

"I never thought you were fashion-conscious." Stefan said.

"Save it, Salvatore. This isn't the time or place to be making jokes like that." Elena shot back. Stefan opened the coffin. Elena looked away, not wanting to see the body's remains. Stefan pulled a book out of it and handed it to Damon.

"Are you still sure you want to go through with this?" Damon asked.

"Of course I am. She's important to you." Stefan pointed out. "You shouldn't have to do this by yourself, you know."

Damon turned to Elena. "If you do anything to make me think I can't trust you…"

"I get it." Elena said. "But if it means anything to you, Damon, I still trust you." She started to leave. Stefan looked as his brother, unable to believe he'd try to threaten her after everything they'd all been through. Then he left, following her.

At Elena's, the two of them were in the bathroom. She was looking for the bandages. "I hate how vulnerable you guys are sometimes." She finally found the box and got it from the shelf.

"Hey, we've been through worse." Stefan pointed out. "I'm surprised you didn't notice it until we almost got here."

"I noticed before, I just didn't want to scare you." Elena said, placing a bandage over a cut on his hand that he got while they were digging up the grave.

"You know Damon didn't mean that, right?" Stefan asked. "He's probably scared of losing her again now that he's so close to finding her."

"I understand that." Elena said. "When this happened, I was worried that Jeremy wasn't going to wake up with me. That I'd be alone through this."

"Good thing it didn't turn out that way, then." Stefan said. "You need anything?"

"No, I'm just going to rest for a while." Elena told him. He headed downstairs and ran into Jenna.

"You know you're not staying the night, right?"

"Yeah, we're just hanging out for a while."

"It's a good thing I like you." Jenna said. "Leave the door open, though."

"No problem." Suddenly, Jeremy burst into the room. He seemed a little shaken.

"Hey, have you seen her?" Jeremy asked.

"She went to the bathroom." Jenna said.

"Wait, seen who, Jer?" Stefan asked.

"His friend came over, so I let her in." Jenna said.

"Anna." Jeremy said. Then he realized something. "Oh, no." He ran upstairs with his speed, with Stefan following behind. Elena wasn't where he left her.

"Elena…"

"I never should've hung out with her tonight. It's my fault." Jeremy said.

"Hey, relax. Anna had us all fooled." Stefan told him. "We'll get Elena back safely, Jer, no matter what happens."


	23. Escape

Elena woke up in a room that looked unfamiliar to her. She noticed someone sleeping in a chair nearby. She tried to sneak past him, but he woke up. "I wouldn't." He said. She turned around. He looked at her. She realized he was trying to compel her. "Don't try to escape. Don't even move. Understand?"

"I understand." Elena ran to the door and opened it, only to find Anna behind it.

"Really?"

"I told her not to move!" The guy said. "I even did that eye thing you taught me."

"She probably takes vervain. Ben, you know humans aren't effected by it."

"What do you want with me?" Elena asked.

"Does it matter?" Anna said, dragging her into the bathroom. She closed the door on her. Elena looked around and saw Bonnie unconscious.

"Bonnie!" She went to her side immediately.

At the Boarding House, Stefan found Damon in the living room. He immediately looked up and knew something was up. "Anna got Elena."

"How?"

"Jenna let her in." Stefan said. "Jeremy's worried sick. I've been trying to track her down, but it's impossible."

"Wait, did you say Jenna let her in?" Damon said.

"She's like them, too." Stefan guessed. "That's why Jeremy couldn't let her in."

"If we only knew where she was staying, that would make it easier." Damon said.

"I don't know where else to look." Stefan told him.

"Look, I don't care about Elena, but I'm not going to let some other vamp chick try to set her up." Damon said. "I'm sure we'll be able to find her."

Back at the Motel Room, Elena woke Bonnie up. "Bonnie."

"Elena?"

"You're okay."

"My head…"

"Damn it." Elena held Bonnie.

"Oh, God! Ben's a…" Elena motioned for her to be quiet.

"They can hear." She reminded her.

"I'm so stupid."

"No, they had us all fooled." Elena said.

"Why are we here?" Bonnie asked.

"It must have something to do with the tomb and Emily's spell book." Elena said.

"Spell book?" Bonnie asked.

"Damon said it could be used to open the tomb." She said. "I didn't think they'd try to use you."

"Use me? For what?" Bonnie asked.

"They need a witch to break the spell and free the vampires." Elena explained.

"No way!"

"I'm not going to let them force you to do it." Elena told her. "We'll get out of this somehow." Ben entered the room then.

"You're wasting your time. I'm not gonna help you." Bonnie told him.

"That's why she's here." Ben told her. "Motivation for you to behave. You know, you shouldn't have been so desperate. You made it too easy." He grabbed Elena and pulled her out of the room.

"Hey!"

"She wants to talk to you." He told her.

"Elena Gilbert." Anna said. "Whoa, you really do look like her. No wonder those two like you."

"Who are you?"

"My name's Anna. Hasn't you're brother mentioned me? We got kinda close during that research paper."

At the Grill, Jeremy was reading the paper. He was trying to take his mind off Elena, but listening to see if there were any clues as the where she was. Vicki was working, and to his surprise, Matt was helping her. Apparently, she'd talked him into getting a job there since she'd be graduating this year. Tyler was at the pool table.

"Ten kegs? You know how much damage we could do with ten kegs? Duke's got it all hooked up."

"Seriously, I'm trying to be more responsible and you're trying to get me drunk?" Vicki told him.

"Besides, Duke's a douche." Matt said.

"Yeah, a douche with ten kegs. Aka my new best friend." Jeremy laughed.

"What's your problem, Gilbert?"

"Don't have one, Lockwood." He shot back.

"Yeah, I didn't think so." Tyler said.

"Do you ever get bored of it?" Matt asked

"Of what?"

"Yourself." The guys laughed.

"Keep laughing, buddy." Tyler said.

"Just ignore them, Ty." Vicki told him. She headed to the back room. Caroline headed over to Jeremy.

"Hey, Jeremy. Where is Elena? I've been texting her and Bonnie all day about Duke's party."

"She went somewhere with Stefan." Jeremy covered. He figured it'd be better than telling her she was missing.

"I am so not going to be one of those girls who disappears just because she has a new boyfriend." Caroline said. She and Matt were sort of dating now, though everyone was pretty cool with it.

"Who's Duke?" Jeremy asked.

"Some guy that graduated a couple of years ago. And he throws a party every time he comes home from Duke." Caroline explained.

"Wait, Duke goes to Duke?" Jeremy asked.

"His real name's Bob or something." She told him. "He's a total ass, but, he buys the beer. You should come."

"Uh, yeah, I don't think so." Jeremy said. He was so done with the party scene, especially after the last one.

"No, seriously. Everyone goes. Even quiet sad little loner brothers. Think about it." Caroline said. And that was typical Caroline, saying something that was meant to offend him.

"Is that really how I come across?" He asked.

"Sort of." She said, walking away from him.

At the Salvatores, the guys were looking through their ancestor's journal for clues. "Of course, we should've known." Damon said. "This journal mentions Anna as being the daughter of the woman who ran the apothecary, Pearl."

"She seemed normal though." Stefan said. "I wonder…Elena told me the only reason they could walk around normally is because a witch helped them." They looked at each other.

A few minutes later, Damon was outside a house. He knocked on the door. Bonnie's grandmother appeared. "Yes?"

"Hey, I'm looking for Bonnie." He told her.

"She's not here."

"Do you know where she…"

"No."

"Wow. You must be related to Emily." Damon said.

"How do you know that name?"

"She was a neighbor of mine when I was little."

"Well, what do you want with me, Mr. Salvatore?" Grams asked.

"We think you're granddaughter was kidnapped by a vampire."

"Come on, you might want to tell me what you know about it." Grams said. They went inside.

Elena was sitting across from Anna in the hotel room. "Bonnie's not gonna open the tomb." She told her.

"Oh, I think she will." Anna said.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" Elena asked.

"My mother's in there." Anna told her. "When they rounded up the vampires in 1864, she got caught trying to save me. I watched Jonathan Gilbert take her away

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"You couldn't have known." Anna said. "You really mean it, don't you? I think we'll skip the whole dead mom bonding so you can serve a purpose."

"Which is what?" Elena asked. "Wait, how did you know she was dead?"

"Leverage." Anna said, not answering her question. However, Elena noticed her eyes seemed sad, like there was something about her that she knew. "This belong to you?" She held up Elena's phone. Elena looked down, surprised she'd taken it without her looking. She answered it.

"Elena? Are you okay?" She heard Stefan saying.

"She's fine." Anna told him. "Tell me you have the grimoire and she'll stay fine."

"I can get it." Stefan told her.

"So your brother has it. One of you better meet me in the town square in thirty minutes so we can safely discuss how fun it'll be to work together." Anna said, hanging up.

"That was her, all right." Stefan said. He looked to Damon.

"I'll make sure she knows we're not on the same side here." He told him. He left the room.

"I'm leaving." Anna told Ben. He and Bonnie entered the room. "Keep them buttoned down. Compulsion won't work. Just use violence." She told him.

Right. I got that." Anna left Ben with them. "Sit. Behave. You're the key to this .Literally. The one who opens the door. Tell me, how long have you been a witch?"

"Is there anything to drink here?" Elena interrupted.

"Are you offering?" Ben asked. Elena glared at him. "There's water on the nightstand." Elena grabbed the glass.

**"**Hey. Can I have a sip?" Bonnie asked. Elena handed it to her. Bonnie threw it on Ben and set it on fire. He backed off. Elena opened the door, but he grabbed her.

"Come back in, shut the door!" He said.

"Don't hurt her!" Bonnie yelled.

**"**Don't make me!" Suddenly, Elena's features changed and she threw him off her.

"Surprised?" Elena asked. "Next time you kidnap someone, make sure they're human." Ben looked at the girls in surprise.

Jeremy was walking through town when he saw Anna. He decided to play it cool so he might be able to find out where his sister was. "Hey, Anna. What happened to you last night?" He asked.

"Sorry, I had to leave." Anna told him. "I thought your sister would've told you."

"I haven't seen her." Jeremy said.

"Well, I have to go."

"Wait." Jeremy said, catching her arm. "You wanna go to a party tonight?" This was part of their plan. He was going to distract Anna during the party while they tried to break Katherine out.

"What?" Anna asked.

"The guy throwing it's a total jerk, but it's supposed to be fun." Jeremy said. "I figured, since we're friends, why not?"

"So, you're asking me out?" Anna asked.

"No, not like that." Jeremy said. "It's been a while since I've had fun. I don't want to come across as that loner guy. Besides, you seem fun, though a little weird, but that's kinda cool. It's in the woods, near that old cemetery."

"I'll meet you there." Anna told him.

"Okay, cool." Jeremy said. "Later." He left then, hoping that this plan was going to work.

Anna sat down on a bench. Damon showed up and sat next to her. "Got a hot date or are you planning to kidnap the entire Gilbert family, vamp girl?"

"So you know." Anna said. "A party right by the old cemetery. How convenient."

"We're not letting anyone else out of there." Damon told her. "Who knows what chaos will happen in town?"

"Well, you're minus a witch and I'm minus a spell book." Anna pointed out.

"You know we'll take you down, right? Especially Stefan, since his Elena's in trouble."

"Then he won't be happy when he finds her dead."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Damon said. "Elena's pretty good at holding her own when it comes to your kind."

"Fine, see if I care." Anna said. She got up and left.

Back at the hotel, Ben found himself cornered by the two girls. "How is it that you two are friends?"

"I don't think you're in any position to make us tell you anything." Bonnie said. She hesitated. "Are you sure? I don't want to accidentally hurt you, too."

"No problem. I have a back-up plan." Elena told her. She threw the door open and Ben started burning. She noticed earlier he didn't have a daylight charm.

"Come on!" She heard a voice yell. She and Bonnie ran outside. The three of them broke into a run.

"Stefan, how'd you find us?"

"We asked you're grandmother to help." Stefan told them.

A few minutes later, they were at the house of Bonnie's grandmother. "How did you know where we were?" Bonnie asked her.

"Many things can fuel a witch's power." Grams told her. "Worry, anger. After the Salvatores told me they'd taken you, I had a lot of both. A simple locator spell was easy after that."

"Sorry about all this." Bonnie told her.

"Not as sorry as they're going to be." Grams said.

"So, what do we do now?" Elena asked as she and Stefan entered the room.

"Maybe we should call off the plan." Stefan suggested.

"Those two might follow you." Grams said.

"About that, we've been forming another plan." Elena said. "Jeremy will try to distract them while we help him free Katherine."

"Are you insane?" Bonnie asked. "What if he gets killed? These vampires are stronger than you."

"We can handle it, Bonnie." Elena said. "Besides, it's not like he doesn't know what she's up to."

"I'll help you open the tomb." Grams spoke up. "You get that young girl out of there and take out the vampires with fire. Then it'll all be over."

"I don't know, that might be too risky." Stefan pointed out.

"What choice do we have?" Elena asked.

"I know, but there's no way my brother will agree." Stefan pointed out.

"I'll talk to him." Elena said.

At the Boarding House, Damon was busy organizing a bookshelf, when he heard a knock at the door. He answered and Elena came in. "Hey. They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, but they were surprised to learn I was one of them." Elena said. "We convinced Bonnie and her grandmother to help."

"What?"

"Look, that spell book's useless without a witch and Sheila knows a lot more about this stuff than Bonnie does." Elena said.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Who do you think gave us our daylight jewels?" Elena pointed out, indicating to her necklace and ring. "Not to mention these lie detector rings." She put one down on the table. "It's the only way we could think of to help."

"It's too much of a risk, Elena." Damon pointed out.

"I know. But it's the only way we know of to get into the tomb." Elena said. Damon looked down at the ring and put it on.

"What time should we do this?" He asked. Elena was glad he was on their side, so why did she have a feeling things were going to go wrong?


	24. Into the Tomb

That night, Elena and Damon met outside near the woods. She sighed. "The Duke party. I forgot about it. I hope they stay clear of the church."

"Same here." Just then, Matt and Caroline showed up.

"Elena, hey." Matt said.

"Oh, my God. Where have you been?" Caroline asked.

"It's a kind of a long story." Elena said. "I'll explain later."

"We haven't met." Matt said to Damon. "I'm Matt."

"Damon Salvatore. I hate to cut this short, but we kind of arranged something with my brother earlier."

"Sorry, guys." Elena said, following Damon into the woods. She just hoped Jeremy would keep his part of the plan up.

The group met under the ruined church. "Now this is creepy." Bonnie said. Stefan returned to the group.

"Everything's all set up." He told them.

"What is that?" Grams asked, looking at the torch on the side.

"It's to destroy them." Stefan told her.

"Are you sure Damon will be able to get her out?" Grams asked. At that moment, he and Elena showed up.

"Hey."

"You okay?" Stefan asked Elena.

"Yeah, let's just get this over with." Elena said. "You sure about this?" She asked Bonnie.

"I'm sure." Bonnie told her.

At the party, Vicki went over to Jeremy. "Hey."

"Hey." Jeremy said. "Having a good time?"

"Not really. It's a little uncomfortable." She told him.

"So, how have you been?" Jeremy asked.

"I've gone a few months without it, and I've been feeling a lot better." Tyler came over to them.

"Hey, man. You got any weed?"

"You know I don't do that stuff." Jeremy pointed out.

"He's high." Vicki told him.

"Yeah, I know." Jeremy said.

"Hey, it's cool. Though, seriously, what's with you Vic, you used to party all the time."

"I need to be more responsible." Vicki told him. "Matt and I are on our own, remember?"

"Man, you two are so boring." Tyler walked away from them.

"You know he didn't mean that, right?" Jeremy asked.

"Of course I know that." Vicki said. "I'm going to see if I can talk to him." She left to catch up with Tyler. Just then, Anna showed up.

"Hey."

"Hey." Anna said. "You okay?"

"It's nothing." Jeremy told her.

"Let's walk." Anna suggested. They headed toward the woods.

Back underground, the group watched as Grams and Bonnie did the spell. "Is that tap water?" Damon asked.

"Yeah." Bonnie said.

"What were you expecting?" Grams asked him.

"We just thought it had to be mystical or whatever." Stefan said.

"This isn't like something you see in the movies, guys." Elena reminded them. "This is real life."

"Okay, you people ready?" Bonnie asked. "Or do we have to listen to you talk all night?"

In the woods, Jeremy realized they were near the old cemetery. "This place is cool." Anna said.

"You like dead people, huh?" Jeremy asked, trying to sound surprised.

"I'm weird like that." Anna said. She noticed Jeremy looked uncomfortable. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Jeremy said. "This place reminds me of…someone I knew."

"Are they dead?" Anna asked.

"Yes." Jeremy said. He noticed something flash in her eyes. He couldn't tell if it was sadness or understanding. It was probably a mix of both. "Everything just changed so fast, you know?" Anna uncontrollably flinched. "Anyway, that party was really not…"

"Not your scene?"

"No." Jeremy said. "I'm not sure where I fit in anymore. But I'm hoping we can be friends, anyway."

"I'd like that." Anna said. "Only, I'm leaving."

"What?"

"My mom and I are moving away." She told him. Jeremy realized that's who she was trying to save. Still, he couldn't let her know he knew her plan.

"Oh, that's a bummer."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I guess this is goodbye." Anna said.

"Yeah, I guess." Jeremy said. He felt uncomfortable, but he still took a step toward her anyway.

"What's going on?" He heard a voice say. They both turned around in surprise.

"Vicki?"

"I saw you go into the woods together." Vicki explained. "I left Ty with my brother. So, what's up?"

"Nothing." Jeremy said. "I was just showing Anna where I used to practice. She's leaving town, though."

"Really?" Vicki asked. "Well, I feel like a total...I'm sorry. I'll leave now."

"I'm sorry about…" Jeremy turned back to Anna, only she didn't look like the girl he met at the library. Her eyes were red and veins appeared underneath. So she was a vampire after all. "You're…"

"It's nothing." Anna said, turning away.

"That was not nothing." Jeremy said. Suddenly, he fell as he was hit in the back.

"Did you have to hit him that hard?" Anna asked as Ben showed up.

"Yeah, I did." She was surprised when Jeremy got up and threw Ben to the ground.

"You don't want to mess with me." He said. He had vamped out during the process. Anna looked at him in surprise.

Back at the tomb, Bonnie and Grams were doing the spell. A few minutes later, the door opened. "Whoa, it worked." Bonnie said.

"Of course it worked." Grams told her.

"I'll be right back." Stefan said. He left to get firewood.

"Are you sure about this?" Elena asked.

"Yeah."

"I don't think I should go in there." Elena said, feeling something was off about the door. "Here." She handed him a torch. He went inside.

Outside, Stefan was heading back when Ben showed up. "Dark down there?"

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked.

"He talks a big game, but he can't back it up." Jeremy told him.

"I still can't believe this." Anna said. She looked surprised. "I'm going down to get my mother."

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that." Stefan told her.

"Well, let's see how a newly-turned does against him." Anna said. "See you, guys." She left them using her speed, leaving Jeremy stunned.

At the door, Anna showed up. "You're not going in there." Bonnie said.

"Think you can stop me?" Anna asked. She went in, to Elena's surprise.

"Bonnie…" Grams held her granddaughter back.

"Why'd you let her go in?"

"Because she can't get out, right?" Elena said. The two witches looked at her. "Stefan told me the tomb was sealed to keep vampires from leaving."

In the woods, Stefan and Jeremy were trying to deal with Ben. "You really think she cares about you at all?" Jeremy asked. "We're just means to an end to her."

"Please, I don't care about that." Ben said. "She gave me what I wanted."

"Why would anyone want this?" Jeremy asked.

"Anna always was soft, never wanted anyone to get hurt." Ben said. "It's too bad that she held onto her humanity, would've spared me from having to kill you."

"How stupid are you?" Stefan asked him. "Humanity isn't a weakness."

"Tough words, coming from a human." Suddenly, he rushed over and tried to hit him, but Jeremy rushed over and pushed him to the ground.

"Leave him alone!" Stefan looked and noticed he was still holding gasoline for the fire.

"Jeremy, get out of the way." He told him. He and Ben were still struggling. Jeremy moved away from him. Stefan used the material to burn Ben. They looked at each other. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Jeremy said. "Get back down there. I'll keep watch."

The girls were still outside the door when he got back. "Hey, have you seen Anna?" He asked.

"She went inside." Bonnie said. He moved to go in.

"Stefan, wait." Grams told him. "It's too dangerous."

"My brother is in there. What if she attacks him?"

"I don't think she will." Elena said. "She's done her research, she knows she can't kill him and risk the council finding out." She looked at the others. "We have to let her back out."

"Are you insane?" Bonnie asked.

"No, look. The only reason she's done all this was to get her mother out." Elena said. "I understand, though. If there were a way for me to bring back my parents, I'd do it no matter what the cost."

"Even if we were strong enough to bring the seal down, there's no guarantee we can get it back up." Grams said.

"But she's right, Grams." Bonnie said. "I'll do it alone if I have to. Maybe she'll leave us alone if they can get out."

Back in the tomb, Anna found her mother. She took out a blood bag she'd brought with her and gave it to her. She woke up a few seconds later. "Anna."

"Let's get you out of here."

"It's impossible. Vampires can't…"

"They're trying to lift it, Mother." Anna told her. "Come with me."

Outside the tomb, the group was focusing. "Wait, what about…"

"He can get in and out in one piece." Elena said. "Though he is taking a long time."

"I'm going in." Stefan told her. "I'll be fine."

"We won't be able to hold the seal for long, we better hope that young lady gets out here." Grams said.

Stefan went inside and found Damon. "Damon?"

"She's not in here, Stef."

"What do you mean?"

"I looked everywhere. She's gone."

Outside, Elena watched as the witches kept it up. "I think it's working!"

"I just wanted my mother back." Anna told them. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you two."

"Hurry and get out!" Grams said. "Bonnie, hang in there."

"They can't hold it for long." Elena said. "You two go, now!"

"We should go, Damon." Stefan told him. "Maybe she found a way out." They left the tomb.

Outside, the group found Jeremy. "Hey, I just saw Anna leaving with someone."

"It's okay, Jer. Just let her go." Elena told him.

"Hopefully that's the last we'll see of her for a while." Stefan said. He and Jeremy started talking while Elena went over to Damon. He looked a little sad. She put her arms around him.

"I'm sorry about this." She told him.

At Gram's House, Bonnie helped her up. "Let me help you."

"I'm fine, Bonnie. You don't need to be concerned."

"It was a big spell, Grams." Bonnie said. "It took a lot out of you."

"I'm going to be fine." She insisted. Bonnie wasn't so sure.

At the Gilberts', Elena was talking with Jeremy. "So, what happened?"

"Not much. Though there's something I don't get."

"What is it?"

"Anna called me a newly-turned before heading down there." Jeremy said. "How would she know that?"

"I don't know, Jer." Elena said. "But if we ever see her again, ask her. She might know more about this than we do. I'm going to see how Bonnie's doing."

"Be careful, Elena."

At the hotel, Anna and her mother walked in. Damon came in afterward. "Hey. Did you know she wasn't in there?"

"I didn't." Anna said. "Honestly, I never knew of any humans being shut in the tomb before. At least, not till tonight."

"Maybe I could be of some assistance?" They looked over at Pearl. Damon was hesitant at first, then remembered she was trapped in there, so she might have seen something.

"Are you sure about this, Mother?" Anna asked her.

"What do you know?" Damon asked.

"I don't know how much time passed in there, but I remember a human girl was there. Some of our kind had gone rogue and put her in hoping that she'd die." Pearl explained. "For the short amount of time I knew her, we became friends. She convinced one of the guards to let her go."

"So, she's okay then?" Anna asked. "Wait, did this girl look similar to the one outside tonight?"

"Why does that make a difference?" Damon asked.

"I don't know, it was always too dark to see clearly." Pearl said. "But when she escaped, I had given her my blood to protect her. Last I saw of her, a couple of the ones guarding the tomb were after her."

"Wait, she turned?" Anna asked. "If that's what happened, she could be anywhere by now." She turned to Damon. "I'm sorry about your girl."

"It's okay. Things like this happen." He told her. He left.

At Bonnie's, Bonnie went into her grandmother's room. "I've got it. Grams?" She didn't wake up. "Grams, wake up. Grams?" Then Bonnie realized what happened and checked for a pulse. "Oh my God! Elena!" Elena rushed into the room.

"What's wrong?"

"She's not breathing!" Elena checked her Grams and couldn't find a pulse on her. It was too late for her to do anything.

"I can't save her, Bon." Elena told her. "I'm sorry." She called the hospital.

"There has to be something I can do…."

"The paramedics are on their way. Maybe they can do something."

"I can't believe this." Bonnie said. Elena held her while she cried. She couldn't help but feel partly responsible for what happened.


	25. Adoption Secrets

Outside, Elena was writing in her journal. It had been five days since she and Bonnie had found Grams dead. She still felt really guilty about it. She did insist on them letting Anna out. Bonnie had left. At the same time, she also felt like she should start finding out who her real parents were.

She pulled out her phone and called Bonnie. "Hey, Bonnie. It's me. Just checking in, seeing how you're doing. We all hope you come home when you're ready." She brushed away a tear she didn't realize had fallen. Jenna stepped outside.

"What are you doing out here? It's cold."

"I needed a place to think." Elena told her. "The funeral for Bonnie's grandma, it brought back a lot about mom and dad, you know? Did you find out anything about the adoption?"

"Come in here." Jenna told her. She got up and followed her inside. "Your dad kept everything from his medical practice. Logs, old appointment books, records. I found an entry from the night you were born. Patient and a birth date. Isobel Peterson."

"You think that's her real name?" Elena asked. She knew Jeremy was downstairs listening.

"A pregnant teenage runaway. Probably not. Her first name, maybe. I ran a search on all the Petersons in this area born in the same year as Isobel." Jenna explained. "Found a woman named Trudie who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."

"That's not far from here." Elena said.

"Trudie still lives there. Here's the address."

"What happened to Isobel?"

"I couldn't find anything on her." Jenna said. "But there is something else. Ric, I mean, Mr. Saltzman, his wife was from around here. Her name was also Isobel."

"Was?"

"She died." Elena seemed surprised. If Isobel was dead, was she really dead or undead? More importantly, though, if these two women were actually the same person, did it mean what she thought it meant?

Elena was in her room, talking with Stefan on the phone. "You think Alaric's wife may have been your mother?" Stefan asked.

"We don't know that." Elena said. "I mean, the coincidence alone is just crazy. I have the address of her friend's house."

"You wanna talk to her."

"I don't know." Elena told him. "If it's true and they are the same person, is she really dead or is she…you know?"

"Did your aunt tell you how she died?"

"Only that she was killed and the case was left open." Elena had a thought then. "Do you know anything about…"

"No. I've never seen him outside of class." Then he remembered something. "Look, if you want, I can go with you to talk to Isobel's friend."

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet."

"I'll see you later. I need to go talk with Damon."

"How is he?" Elena asked. She hadn't seen him since the tomb incident.

"I'll call you back." Stefan told her. He headed into the living room where Damon was sitting. "We need to talk."

"Okay, but I'm warning you, I have a slight headache right now."

"You probably shouldn't have been drinking last night, then."

"What did you really want to talk about? I have a feeling it has nothing to do with the fact that Katherine went missing."

"There was a woman a few years ago I remember you telling me about. Isobel."

"Oh, her."

"You said you were trying to help her." Stefan pointed out, remembering how tired he'd been when he came back late at night and was an even bigger wreck than he was now.

"Why are you asking me about her?"

"Do you remember anything about her?" Stefan asked.

"Only that she was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Damon told him. "I only knew her for about five minutes." He pointed out.

"Okay."

At the Grill, Alaric and Jenna were working together. "I don't know. It's just weird, you know, me being raffled off like a Disney Cruise." He told her.

"In this town, fundraising is like indentured servitude. You don't have a choice. Besides, you're a bachelor, and you're eligible, so there you go." Jenna told him.

"Is everyone in this town insane?" Alaric asked. He noticed Jenna's expression. "What is it?"

"Elena recently found out she was adopted, and she's been looking for her birth mother." Jenna told him. "Her name was Isobel."

"Isobel? Like my wife?" Alaric asked. "But we never…I mean, she didn't…"

"Here, I have a picture of her." Jenna said. She showed it to him. He seemed surprised.

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

"I know, I ruined the moment again." Jenna said. He left the Grill kinda fast.

Elena found herself outside a small house. It was the same address Jenna had given her. She knocked on the door. A woman answered. "Are you Trudie Peterson?"

"Yes."

"My name's Elena Gilbert. I wanted to talk to you about Isobel Flemming."

"I haven't heard that name in years. How do you know her?"

"Do you know if she had a baby that she gave up for adoption."

"Oh, my God." The woman said. "You're her daughter. Come in." Elena stepped into the house.

"Sorry for dropping in unexpected like this."

"It's no problem. I am a bit surprised though. I haven't seen Isobel in years."

"When was the last time you saw her?" Elena asked.

"About seventeen years ago, when she left to go have you." Trudie told her. "We kept in touch for a while, but grew apart."

"So you don't know where she wound up?"

"She lived in Florida for a while, but not long."

"Do you know who my father is?" Elena asked.

"I could never get her to tell me that." Trudie said. "Last I heard of her, she got to college on a scholarship."

"Where'd she go?"

"Duke, I think."

In town, Stefan ran into Alaric. "Hey, you have a second?"

"What is it?" Stefan asked.

"You know my wife was named Isobel, right?"

"So she was Elena's birth mother?" Stefan asked.

"What does she know?"

"About Isobel? Not much." Stefan told him.

"Did either of you know if your brother knew her?"

"No. I only just remembered him mentioning something about her about a year or two ago." Stefan explained. "When I asked, he didn't say much."

"Can you ask again?" Alaric asked him.

"I don't know."

"I think he was the one who murdered her."

"What?!" Stefan looked at him. "I know for a fact that my brother would never kill anyone." He decided to leave out the whole vampire thing.

"He was with her when she died, though. That seems kinda suspicious to me."

"Look, he couldn't have done it."

"I just want to know what happened." Alaric told him.

"Do you have a picture or anything I could show him? I don't know if he remembers her that well." Stefan explained. Alaric handed him a picture of Isobel. He left.

Elena was still at Trudie's. They were going through a yearbook. "We both used to be on the cheerleading squad."

"Wow, more things we used to have in common." Elena said. "I quit cheerleading a while ago. Thanks, for telling me this."

"No problem." Trudie told her. Elena picked up the teacup, then sensed something was off and put it back down.

"This had been nice." She said. "But I think I should probably get going now."

"If you ever want to know more about her, feel free to drop by." Trudie told her. Elena headed out to her car and left in a hurry.

At the Grill, Damon was surprised when he found Alaric sitting next to him. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. No offense, but I thought you'd be grading papers."

"I do have a life outside of work, you know." Alaric said.

"Yeah, though it can get pretty depressing."

"You don't really seem like the type who gets depressed easily."

"You say that as though you know me." Damon told him.

"No, though you do seem kinda familiar." Alaric said. "I better get going." He left the bar, leaving Damon wondering what the heck that was all about. Sheriff Forbes came over to him.

"Listen, I need a favor." She said, sitting next to him.

"Have you ever known what it was like to not know where your girlfriend or whatever was?"

"You forgot I was married once." Sheriff Forbes pointed out.

"Oh, right. Gay husband."

"Look, there's a fundraiser here tonight that the Founder's Council is having. The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates and, we're short a bachelor." Sheriff Forbes explained.

"Is this what you people do when there's no…threat?" He couldn't make himself say the word vampire. "Organize bachelor raffles?"

"Hey, at this point, I miss dealing with that." Sheriff Forbes told him. "But if it were a choice, I'd rather be investigating. But you are single and a catch. Carol Lockwood will never let me live it down if I come up with nothing."

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Thank you."

"Hang on." He turned to the Sheriff as she got up. "Can you get a little information on Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher? There's something a little off about him. I want to make sure they know what they're dealing with at that school."

"No problem." The Sheriff left.

At the Boarding House, Elena went in looking for Stefan. "Stefan?"

"He'll be back in a couple minutes." Damon told her.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked. She noticed something was a little off about him.

"As okay as someone can be when they find out the person they've been looking for has probably turned and can be anywhere in the world."

"Oh. Sorry." Elena said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm fine. I'll get through this somehow."

"Anyway, I found out some things about my birth mother." Elena said. Stefan showed up then.

"Didn't she leave you?"

"She had a good reason, I'm sure." Elena told him. Stefan showed up then. "Hey, I was just waiting for you."

"I'll see you two later." Damon told them. He left the room.

"He's upset, isn't he?"

"He doesn't like to show it." Stefan told her.

"I just feel so bad about everything that happened in that tomb." Elena said. "I couldn't even do anything but stand outside and wait."

"It's not your fault, Elena. None of us knew she wouldn't be there."

"I saw Trudie today."

"How was it?"

"She knows about vampires, Stefan. She tried to give me vervain." Elena told him. "This can't be coincidence."

"It isn't." Stefan handed her a picture. "This is Alaric's wife." Elena looked at the picture.

"So, this is her?" Elena asked.

"He thinks she was murdered." Stefan told her. "And I think he knows about vampires."

"Whoa."

"Look, maybe we should talk with Alaric. There's a lot that we still need to figure out, and he might know something that could help."

Stefan met his brother at the Boarding House. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"She's headed to the Grill to meet Jeremy." Stefan told him. "I found this." He handed him the picture Alaric had given him earlier. He watched as Damon looked at the photo, recognizing her. "You knew her, didn't you?"

"Sort of. It's complicated."

"You didn't kill her, did you?"

"I would never kill a victim, Stefan!" Damon snapped. Stefan looked surprised. "Sorry, I overreacted."

"Wait, what happened?"

"I'll explain on the way."

At the Grill, Elena was with Jeremy. She'd explained everything. "Whoa. So, you think there's a chance that he's…"

"We don't know for sure yet." Elena told him. "We still need to get a few things cleared up first."

"Hey, whatever happens, I'm here for you." Jeremy said. Elena embraced him.

"Thanks, Jer."

Damon was talking with Carol. "I still can't believe I'm doing this."

"Well, it was kind of a last-minute thing." Carol pointed out.

"Could you give me a minute?" He found Liz over in the back corner and went over to her.

"I found out more about that teacher." She told him.

"So, what's up?"

"He's had a few speeding tickets. Looks like it's complicated, though. His wife went missing a few years ago around North Carolina." Liz told him.

"What was her name?" Damon asked. This case was starting to sound familiar.

"Isobel." Liz told him.

The auction was underway when Stefan finally showed up. "Hey, I was starting to think you wouldn't make it." Elena said.

"Yeah, I had to deal with something on the way here." Stefan told her.

"Okay, moving on. Number four, Alaric Saltzman." Carol introduced. "Wow, that's hard to say. What do you do, Alaric?"

"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High." He told her.

"And what do you teach?"

"History."

"Interesting. You must know a lot of facts."

"Not really."

"He's probably saving it for his date." Carol told the audience. "And finally, Damon Salvatore." Elena felt Jeremy tense beside her. "We don't really know much about you?"

"I sort of do detective work." He told her.

"Okay, besides work, what else do you do?"

"I do a little travelling sometimes." Damon said. "In fact, I remember this one case I was working on a little outside of down. I didn't know it at the time, but I think it was Alaric's wife." The group, and Alaric were looking at him. "She was a bright young lady. Who, unfortunately, ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time." Alaric was still looking at him. He seemed a little tense.

In the audience, Elena was in shock. "Are you okay?" Jenna asked.

"I need some air." She walked out, with Jeremy and Stefan following closely behind her.

She was practically halfway down the block when they caught up to her. "Elena, wait." Stefan called.

"She's dead. Not like I didn't already know that." Elena said. Her voice was cold.

"We don't know much about what happened." Stefan pointed out. "But Damon mentioned when he brought them to the crime scene, her body had disappeared."

"What does that mean?" Jeremy asked, echoing Elena's thoughts.

"I don't know." Stefan said. "But I have a feeling we're going to need to talk to both of them to find out."

"I still can't believe he knew something and didn't say anything." Elena said.

"He doesn't know about the connection to you." Stefan told her. "I wanted to ask, but it seems to bring up bad memories."

"He did seem a little depressed when he talked about her." Jeremy pointed out.

"Come on, we should get back." Stefan said. The three of them walked back over to the Grill. Outside, they ran into Damon.

"Whoa, easy, Lena. You should really watch where you're going."

"How did you know Isobel was killed?" Elena asked.

"Why are you so concerned?"

"Forget it, I don't know why I'm even…"

"Elena." Jeremy caught her arm and stopped her from leaving.

"What's going on here?" Damon asked.

"Remember when we were talking about my birth mother?" Elena asked him. "Her name was Isobel." Damon seemed surprised. "Look, I just want to know what really happened."

"Maybe I can help you." The group turned and saw Alaric coming toward them. "My wife was obsessed with vampires. She lived in a town not too far from here and spent her life researching them. At the time, I thought it was all just fiction."

"And you thought I killed her?" Damon asked him.

"We were in town and got separated. The last time I saw her, she was dead in your arms." Alaric pointed out. The group turned to Damon.

"But he doesn't seem like someone who would do that." Elena pointed out.

"Because I didn't." Damon told them. "Here's what really happened." He remembered meeting Isobel that one night.

Flashback: Outside, Isobel was walking down a sidewalk, when she got a bad feeling. She turned around and saw someone. "Miss?" She jumped. It was Damon. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You dropped this." He handed her a wallet.

"Oh, thanks." Isobel said. "It must've fallen out."

"You should be careful around here." He told her. "It's not safe to be walking around alone."

"I'm not alone." She told him. "I'm looking for my husband."

"Still. Be careful." He walked away. A few minutes later, he heard someone scream and ran back. Isobel was surrounded by a group of men.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Isobel asked.

"No need to get defensive, lady. We're just here to help."

"I don't want any of your help!" She yelled. Suddenly, one of them came toward her at speed. She gasped, realizing these men weren't human. She tried to defend herself, but fell back. Before they could do anything, though, one of them suddenly dropped over, dead, with a stake in his back.

"Didn't you hear the lady? She doesn't want you're kind of help." Damon told them. The group turned to him.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Isobel asked him.

"I'm an expert at this." Damon told her. "Just stay behind me." He fought off most of them easily. One of them tried to stake him, but he got out of the way and took him out from behind. Then he realized there was still another one left.

When he turned, the vampire was holding Isobel by her shoulder. "You touch her, I swear…"

"Fine. She's all yours." The vampire said. He dropped Isobel and sped over to him. He took him out. It was then he noticed Isobel was bleeding and that she wasn't trying to get up. He went over to her. He took out his phone.

"I'm dying, aren't I?" Isobel asked.

"There might still be time to get an ambulance."

"It's too late." Isobel told him. "They won't get here in time."

"There's still a little time." Damon told her. He came down to the ground and took her in his arms so that they were facing each other. He could see how scared and sad she was. "Don't just give up because it seems hopeless."

"It's too late for me to be saved." Isobel said. "There's no point in hiding the fact. Let my husband know that I'm sorry about everything."

"I will, once you tell me who he is."

"Alaric." She managed to get out between breaths.

"Can you tell me your name?" Damon asked her. When he found him, he wanted to make he'd know he wasn't lying.

"Isobel." She told him. Then she passed out in his arms. End flashback.

"And that's when you saw me." Damon finished.

"Wait, wait." Jeremy said. "You said when you brought the police back, they couldn't find the body."

"They still haven't found it." Damon said. "What's your point?"

"I get it." Elena said. Everyone turned to her. "Maybe she wasn't murdered. Maybe they turned her instead."

"And then she could've run off without anyone knowing." Alaric added.

"If that is what really happened, then I'm sure she never intended to hurt you like that." Damon told him. "If she was, well, she's no better than my girlfriend."

"Yeah, but there's a few things we don't know." Stefan pointed out. "What are you really doing here?"

"Since my wife died, I went over her notes." Alaric told him. "Since then…"

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Jeremy said. "Are you all that stupid? He's a vampire hunter!" Everyone was looking at Jeremy in shock

"How did you know?"

"You're wife's not the only one who wrote about them." Jeremy said. "My ancestor kept a journal."

"That, and someone turned us." Elena added.

"Elena." Stefan whispered. He took her hand.

"No, it's okay." Elena said. "I think we can trust him." Alaric looked at her.

"You really do have her spirit."

"Do you know something about this?" Damon asked.

"Before we left town, she told me about a time where she had given up a child to her ex's family." Alaric explained. "Of course, she didn't tell me that it was her, but she dropped a few hints. It wasn't hard to figure out."

"So, why are you here, then?" Stefan asked. He was holding Elena's hand.

"After Isobel died or whatever, I found out about it through an old medical file she'd hidden." Alaric explained. "It stated that her child was born in Mystic Falls. It didn't list a name, though. Then Jenna told me your birth mother was Isobel."

"You came here to find her daughter." Elena realized.

"It didn't take long to put the pieces together." Alaric told her. Elena walked over and embraced him.

"Another vampire hunter. So you're the one who killed Logan Fell after he was turned." Damon realized.

"That's right." Alaric said. "He tried to kill me, so I killed him first."

"Thank goodness you did. He tried to out us and kidnap someone." Elena told him.

"Of course. That's why your ring looked so familiar." Jeremy said. "It's the Gilbert Ring, the one that protects humans from being killed by vampires."

"Or other supernatural creatures." Elena added. "But how did…"

"Isobel gave it to me." Alaric explained. "She said it would protect me from them, as crazy as it sounded."

"Wait, are you sure it's the same ring?" Elena asked Jeremy.

"I'm pretty sure. And I don't think either of us wanna find out the hard way." Jeremy pointed out.

"Yeah, that would be a bad idea." Elena said.

"Okay, so now that everything's cleared up, I think we should head back inside." Damon said. "In case you've forgotten, we're still being auctioned off."

"Good luck you guys." Elena said as they headed back inside.

The rest of them began to head home. "Wow. That was a little intense."

"Well, what do you expect?" Elena pointed out. "The supernatural have a way of effecting people."

"But we've all made it out okay so far." Stefan pointed out.

"Yeah, you're…" Elena froze. The guys looked and saw a man had shown up.

"Uh, can we help you?" Jeremy asked.

"I have a message for you." He told them. They quickly realized they meant Elena.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Stop looking." Elena was confused for a second, then looked at him. "She doesn't want to know you."

"Jer." Elena whispered so only he heard it. Jeremy noticed what was up with him and quickly texted Stefan. He looked at the message:

He's under compulsion.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand." Elena told him.

"Good. I'm done." The siblings looked at each other. They knew what that meant.

"Stef, close your eyes!" Elena told him. He did what she said. When he opened them, the man was dead in the middle of the road. They ran over to him.

"What just happened?" He asked.

"She must've compelled him to kill himself after he gave the message." Elena explained.

"Well, that confirms one thing, you're birth mother obviously turned." Jeremy said.

"Let's just get out of here." Elena said. "I think I've had enough of trying to figure this out for a while." The guys agreed and they all headed back home as fast as they could.


	26. Double Date Disaster

At school, Elena met with Stefan. After the past couple weeks, finding out everything, they were ready for a break. "So, how's Damon?"

"He's been keeping himself busy with work." Stefan told her.

"I almost don't blame him." Elena said. "Finding out the person you care about has left without a word, that's gotta hurt."

"Yeah. If it hadn't been for Lexi, I'd probably still be an outsider." Stefan admitted. "Have you thought about what you're going to do?"

"About what?" Elena asked. "My missing birth mother or my vampire look-alike?"

"Sorry. I know you're in a rough place right now."

"It'd be nice if we could just get through one normal day." Elena said. "Not having to deal with this vampire crap for once."

"No kidding. After the last couple weeks, we could use a break." Stefan agreed.

After class, Caroline ran over to them. "Hey guys."

"Hi, Care. What's up?"

"I was thinking that maybe Matt and I could hang out with you guys." Caroline said.

"What are you thinking?" Elena asked. She knew Caroline well and had a feeling she was up to something.

"I'm thinking we could go to the Grill and maybe catch a movie."

"A double date?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Elena said. She still felt bad for breaking up with Matt, even though she was with Stefan now.

"Why not?" Caroline said. "We haven't all gone out as a group before and there's been a little awkwardness between you, me, and Matt lately. I think it's important for us to get over it."

Elena looked at her, realizing she was trying to test Matt. She felt angry at her for even thinking of it, though at the same time, she felt almost sorry for her. She knew Care had little self-confidence. "I don't know about this."

"I think it's a great idea." She turned to Stefan.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It sounds normal enough." Elena got what he was saying. "Besides, you guys clearly have some issues to work through."

"Okay, then. We're in." Elena told Caroline.

"Great. We'll see you tonight." She said. She walked away.

"Well, this could be interesting." Elena said.

At the Boarding House, Damon was surprised to find Anna and Pearl outside. "Hello, Damon."

"What are you doing here?" He asked. "If you're waiting for an invitation, I'm not letting you in."

"That's okay. We can talk out here." Pearl said.

"I'd listen if I were you." Anna said. "My mother has a bit of a temper."

"Okay."

"We've taken up residence at farmhouse just outside of town." Pearl said.

"All of you?"

"No, most of them left town." Pearl explained.

"Wait, how'd they get out of the tomb?" Damon asked.

"Don't look at us." Anna said. "I think the witches messed that up by accident."

Damon couldn't believe this. Now they had another problem to deal with?

"I understand from Anna that the Founding Families still have a secret council." Pearl said.

"And you're part of it." Anna said.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I've been in town since the comet, Damon." Anna told him. "I know things."

"Let's get one thing clear right now, I am not going to be your little spy for the council." He told them.

"That's fine by us." Pearl said. "But you should be careful. Some of our people seek vengeance on the Founding Families." Damon watched as she and Anna left.

After school, Elena heard someone knock on the door. She answered it and found Stefan. "Hey." He handed her a bouquet of flowers.

"You got me flowers?"

"Yeah, I know it's a little old-fashioned, but…"

"I love it." Elena told him. "I think it's really sweet of you." She leaned over and pecked his lips.

"So, what time are we meeting them again?"

"I forgot, too." Elena said. "Then again, I'm sure Caroline will think of an excuse to be 'fashionably late'."

"It can't be that bad." Stefan said.

"You weren't there the night we slept over at Bonnie's that one time." Elena told him. "Honestly, Care's a good person and all, but sometimes she can be a little over the top."

"You sure about doing this?" Stefan asked.

"Of course I'm sure." Elena said, taking a sip from her water bottle. He could tell what else was in it due to the light red coloring of it. A normal person could easily mistake it for some kind of sports drink. A thought occurred to her. "Have you ever been on a double date before?"

"No. I never really dated much."

"Just be yourself." Elena told him, placing the water bottle on the counter. "That is why I fell for you, after all."

Damon headed over to the Grill and sat down. The woman sitting next to him looked at him. "You're new around here."

"Moved here a few months ago."

"That would explain why I've never seen you. Trust me, I would've remembered. Then again, I've been out of town a while."

"Really? Where have you been?"

"Around the states."

"I've done a little traveling myself." Damon told her. "So, what brings you here?"

"I was supposed to be interviewing for a job here, but I think the manager blew me off." The woman told him.

"What happened?"

"Well, last time I was in town, I slept with her boyfriend."

"You have to admit, that is kinda low." Damon said.

"It just happened."

"It's still no excuse." He told her. Jenna showed up then.

"Kelly? Is that you?"

"Jenna." The women hugged each other.

"I heard you were back in town." Jenna said. "We used to hang out all the time."

"Yeah, until I dropped out of school." Kelly pointed out. "I had trouble throughout the university."

"So, what have you been doing since then?"

"Travelling, mostly. I came back to check on the kids, though."

"When was the last time you saw them?" Damon asked.

A few minutes later, Elena and her group were sitting at a table. "So, how is it, working here with Vicki?" Elena asked.

"It's kinda weird, but the staff's awesome." Matt told her. "Though I'm still just mostly helping her out here."

"I heard your mom was back." Elena said. "How's it been?"

"You know what she's like." Matt said. "At least she's trying."

"Kelly and my mom were best friends growing up." Elena told Stefan. "It's how Matt and I first met."

"Really?"

"We've known each other our whole lives." Matt said. "Well, at least that's what we thought." Everyone looked around, uncomfortably. Then they noticed who was sitting at the bar.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"She can do better."

Jeremy was at home, when there was a knock on the door. He was surprised to find Anna there. "Hey."

"I thought you were leaving once you got what you wanted." Jeremy said. He was still angry at her for trying to use them.

"There was a sudden change of plans." Anna told him. "I know you're angry, but I wanted to explain…"

"Explain how you kidnapped my sister and almost had me killed?" Jeremy asked. Anna was surprised at how harsh he sounded.

"May I come in?" She asked him. Jeremy moved to the side so she could get in the house. (A/N: She was invited in by Jenna a few chapters back)

Back at the Grill, the group was watching the others.

"How's work going?" Jenna asked.

"It's been a little slow lately." Damon told her.

The group was watching from a distance at the pool table. "At least they're having fun." Caroline said.

"I think they're drunk." Elena pointed out.

"Remember when Elena's parents busted us here after homecoming?" Matt asked.

"Oh, right." Caroline laughed. Stefan looked over at Elena.

"It was the first and last time I got drunk." Elena told him. "I blame Matt."

"Her parents got seated at the next booth." Matt added.

"So Matt had me pretend I was chocking so we could get away."

"Only her dad was a doctor so he jumped up to save her."

"Then I ran, slipped on the wet floor, and bit it front of everyone." Elena said.

"I remember." Caroline said. "I wondered what happened to you afterward."

"I ended up grounded for two weeks and wasn't allowed to see this guy for a month." Elena told them. They all looked at each other. Stefan found it a little hard to believe that she even got drunk in the first place.

"I'm going to the restroom. Elena?" Caroline asked. Elena went with Caroline.

At the Gilbert's house, Jeremy and Anna were sitting in the living room. "What made you and your mom decide to stay in town?" Jeremy asked, trying to keep his anger under control.

"Some of the others moved in with us and she wanted to check out this old business in town." Anna told him. "I was thinking of enrolling at the high school, but I don't think I'd fit in. Still, I want to know what it's like to be normal for a while."

"How'd you get that information on vampires?" Jeremy asked. "For that paper, I mean."

"Exactly what I said, stayed at the library and got the information." Anna said. "Just cause I'm a vampire, that doesn't mean I'm a rule breaker."

"So why are you really here?" Jeremy asked.

"I wanted to apologize for trying to use you." Anna told him. "I didn't know the guys would go that far."

"You're different than I thought you were." Jeremy said.

"When you're an outsider, Jeremy, you learn a lot about people."

"I know what that's like. I was one before I turned." They looked at each other.

At the Grill, Matt and Stefan were playing pool and Stefan was winning. "Is there anything you're not good at?"

"Double dating." Stefan told him. "I haven't really had a girlfriend before, so it's all kinda new to me. I never really fit in before."

"When I started school, I was kinda that nerd most kids would pick on." Matt said. "Until they found out I was good at sports."

"Which ones were you into?"

"I started off with baseball, soccer, but once I got into football, I really got into it." Matt explained. "How'd you get into it?"

"My brother and I always used to play it when we were kids. Before I moved, my friends convinced me to join the team."

In the bathroom, Elena was by the sink. Caroline was behind her. "So, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the point of this was to show him that you've moved on, not take a trip down memory lane."

So Caroline was jealous. Elena thought. "Look, he knows we're over, Care, and I'm just trying to be friendly."

"Try less." Caroline said. She practically stormed out of the bathroom. Elena followed her out, knowing it wouldn't end well.

"Caroline. Caroline!" Suddenly, a man caught her arm. He looked at her.

"Katherine?" Elena tried to seem calm, like she hadn't been shaken by hearing her doppelgangers name.

"I'm sorry, you have the wrong person." Caroline turned around.

"Elena, let's go!" She called.

"My mistake." The man let her go and they went back to the pool table.

"How's everything going?" Elena asked.

"Matt's cheating."

"Please, I'm the most honest guy I know." Matt said.

"Is everything okay?" Stefan asked, noticing something seemed off about Elena.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Elena said. He put his arm around her. "That man by the bar…he called me Katherine." She whispered to him. Stefan turned around, but there was nobody there.

A few minutes later, the two of them pulled up to the Boarding House. Caroline and Matt were a few minutes late. "You sure you didn't know that guy at all?" Stefan asked.

"No, there's nothing about him that was familiar." Elena said. A horrible thought occurred to her. "Maybe we should call this off."

"I thought we were taking a night off from this."

"Well, what if he's from the tomb?" Elena asked. "Stefan, what if they've escaped?"

"Look, whatever's going on, we can deal with it tomorrow." Stefan pointed out. "Besides, your friends are pulling up behind us." Elena glanced out the back window to see Matt's car.

She took a deep breath. "Okay, we'll try to get through this night."

The group went into the living room. "Well, it's better than watching our families hang out." Caroline said.

"I've always wanted to see what the inside of this place looked like." Matt told Stefan.

"Yeah, it takes some getting used to."

"Our entire house could fit in here, like twice." Matt told him.

"I never did see this house the first time I came here." Caroline said.

"Anyway, you guys up for a movie or something?" Elena asked.

"Whoa, these are great." Matt looked at the miniature car collection.

"It's an old hobby of mine." Stefan told him.

"I did the Mustang series when I was ten."

"You're into cars, too?"

"Yeah."

"Come with me." The group found themselves headed to the garage.

At the Grill, the group were still talking. "So, how long have you been here?" Kelly asked.

"Look, you seem like a good person, but I'm not quite over my ex." Damon told her. "I'm just not really looking for a relationship right now."

"Well, I have to go." Jenna told them.

"So do I." Damon and Jenna left the Grill.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group gathered in the garage. Stefan removed a tarp from an old car. "Whoa, how do you even have this thing?" Matt asked.

"It was passed down through the family." Stefan told him. "It was my grandfather's." Even the girls looked impressed.

"How come you don't drive it?" Elena asked him.

"It doesn't run."

"Can I take a look?" Matt asked. He looked at the car, then turned to Elena. "Remember the old Camaro your dad used to have?"

"How can I forget?" Elena pointed out.

"I built and rebuilt that engine about twenty times."

"That's amazing."

"I'm not into sports cars." Caroline said. "They're too hard to make out in."

"It's not that bad, Care." Matt said. Elena looked at Matt, then turned to Caroline, who was already on her way out. Elena ran after her. "Sorry, man."

"Don't worry about it." Stefan told him. "You two have a history together. Ignoring it won't do any good."

"I wasn't sure at first, but she's happy around you, so I'm happy for her."

"Thanks."

Outside, Elena found Caroline and walked over to her. "Caroline…"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"This is ridiculous." Elena told her.

"I know, but I can't help being insecure." Caroline said. "It doesn't change the fact that Matt still has a thing for you and that I'm always second best."

"That is not true, Care, and you know it." Elena said.

"Yes, it is, Elena!" Caroline told her. "But you wouldn't get it because everyone seems to like you instead of me."

"Hey, we've been friends since the first grade." Elena pointed out. "Maybe if you weren't so uptight, the others would be nicer to you." They both looked at each other. Just then, Matt and Stefan pulled up in the car.

"Hey." Matt said.

"Why don't you two try this thing out?" Stefan told him, noticing the girls' expressions.

"Really?" Matt asked. Stefan nodded. "Caroline?" Caroline looked hesitant, but got into the car with him. They drove off.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked.

"Sometimes I wish I could tell them everything." Elena told him. "Not like they'd believe it."

"Come here." He and Elena embraced each other. "I've known about Caroline's insecurity since I met her, but from what I've seen, she's a good person who's probably been hurt in the past."

"So it is my fault?"

"No. But I think she wants to be like you. What she needs is to realize it's okay for her to be herself."

"I know. Though I feel like I haven't been much of a friend to her lately." Elena told him.

"Are you kidding? Anyone would be lucky to have a friend like you, Elena."

Back at the Gilberts, Jeremy took two water bottles from the fridge, both filled with blood. "Sorry if this isn't the kind of thing you're used to…"

"No problem." Anna told him. "I only drink from blood bags."

"What about before…"

"I'd only feed off people who were willing." Anna said. "You and your stereotypes. I would never kill an innocent person."

"Wow. We have a lot in common. Though there was an incident once." Jeremy admitted, remembering what happened with Vicki.

"What happened?"

"I was really angry and almost hurt someone I cared about." Jeremy told her.

"What vampire hasn't done that?" Anna said. "At least you had the restrain not to kill them. When I was still getting used to the changes, I accidentally hurt someone myself."

"That's really the only downside, though."

"Apart from our emotions being magnified."

"Right." Jeremy said. "By the way, I wanted ask you something."

"What is it?

"How'd you know I was a new…" He cut off as he heard the door open. He headed over to find Jenna. "Hey, what's up?"

"Not much. Be sure to lock the door." Jenna told him. She looked tired. By the time Jeremy got back to the kitchen, Anna was gone.

Outside, the group met back up again. "Hey." Caroline said.

"Hey."

"So, yeah. Sorry about earlier. I don't know why I was…"

"I get it, Care. We've all been there with our boyfriends before." Elena said, remembering her reaction to finding out that she and Katherine looked similar to each other.

"I hate to ruin the evening, but I better get going." Matt said. "I can't stand the thought of Vicki and my mom alone in the same house." The girls understood. Vicki and Kelly didn't really get along so well. Then Caroline checked her watch.

"I should go, too. My mom will kill me if I miss my curfew." Caroline told them.

"I understand." Elena said. Matt and Caroline went into his car. Elena turned to Stefan. "I need to get going, too. Sorry."

"Just be careful, okay?" Stefan told her.

"I always am." Elena pointed out. "Besides, it's not that far a drive."

"I just get so worried about you sometimes."

"I'll call you before I go to bed." Elena told him. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her before she got into her car.

When he went back inside, he found Damon in the living room. "Hey. How was your night?"

"Haven't done anything I might regret in the morning, if that's what you're asking."

"Are you…" Suddenly, they heard the window shatter. They ran outside, only to find two vampires. Luckily, they were both carrying stakes inside their jackets. The first one got knocked Stefan to the ground. Damon kicked him in the stomach, forcing him back.

As Stefan got up, the other vampire nearly pushed him down again, but he grabbed a stake and stabbed her through the heart with it. Meanwhile, Damon was fighting off the other vampire and managed to stake him, but only in the arm. The vampire turned and saw that his partner was dead, then looked at them before running off.

Stefan and Damon looked at each other. "I'll let Liz know and have them keep an eye out for him."

"Wait, they look familiar." Stefan said. "Wasn't she in the tomb?"

"Yeah…about that…" They looked at each other.

Elena ran into Jeremy upstairs when she got home. "Hey. How was your night?"

"It was…the usual, you know? How about you?"

"Yeah, same here."

"I need to tell you something, but it can wait till morning. It's better if all four of us are there."

"Okay."

Elena went into her room and called Stefan. "Hey, I made it back okay."

"That's good to know." She noticed he sounded stressed about something.

"Are you okay?"

"We can talk about it later."

"I had a really nice time tonight." Elena told him. "It just felt…normal again. Even if it was just for a while."

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

Elena smiled. "Good night, Stefan." She hung up.

Jeremy went up to his room. "What the hell?" Anna was there, waiting for him.

"Sorry I ran off like that. I didn't want to get caught." Anna told him.

"How did you know about me?" Jeremy asked once the shock wore off.

"I heard about this girl who was attacked." Anna said. "She was bitten on the neck, sent to the hospital for observation. Then I saw how you fought back against Ben."

"How did you know about that?" Jeremy asked. "I mean, you didn't get to town until the comet showed up."

"Yeah. I heard how worried your friends were when that girl went missing." Anna explained. "I was hiding in the back of the Grill that night."

"It's kinda weird." Jeremy said. "Apart from the bad ones and my sister, I've never known another vampire."

"We all keep the same secrets, Jer."

"How come you wanted to apologize?"

"Because I didn't think the guys would go that far." Anna told him. "And because I felt guilty for starting this whole mess."

Jeremy had a feeling she wasn't just talking about the tomb incident. "What do you mean, Anna? What else have you done?"

"I'm afraid I may have made a mistake." Anna told him. "I'm the one who turned you two."


	27. Rescue Mission Part I

Jeremy hadn't been able to get any sleep the previous night. He was stunned by what Anna had told him. What didn't surprise him is that she showed up in his room that morning. "What do you mean you turned us?" He managed to get out when he saw her.

"It's kinda a long story, Jeremy." Anna told him.

"So, basically, you gave us your blood and let us get killed?"

"It wasn't like that." Anna protested. "I don't kill people."

"Then tell me what really happened."

"I can't tell you everything now, but meet me later." Anna told him. "I can tell you this much: I was never on their side to begin with." Jeremy heard a knock on the door. When he turned, Anna had left.

"Still up?" Elena asked, entering the room.

"Yeah, what's up?" Jeremy asked her.

"Looks like there's a big storm rolling in. Can you help make sure all the windows are closed?"

"No problem." Jeremy said. He headed downstairs to help his sister out.

A few hours later, Elena was at Stefan's. They had invited both Gilbert siblings, but Jeremy had gone to the Grill. Elena was surprised to find out the tomb vampires escaped. "I say we head over to Pearl's and get rid of the moron who attacked us last night."

"Are you insane? There's gotta be at least twenty vampires in there." Stefan pointed out. "Even with their help, we'd probably be dead by midnight."

"I can't believe they got out." Elena said.

"Pearl said that some of them wanted vengeance on the Founding Families." Damon told them. "That means all of us."

"Not to mention Caroline's family." Elena pointed out. "And Tyler's."

"Look, the four of us are going to have to work together to stop them, since Bonnie's still out of town." Damon said.

"There's no way we're going to let anyone get killed in the process, though." Elena said. "Last thing we need's more mysterious deaths."

"Maybe we could get Pearl to help us." Elena looked at him as though he'd lost it.

"How's that going to work? She won't take any sides in this."

"I think he's right. If not Pearl, maybe we could convince Anna." Stefan said.

"I'm going to try and figure out where they are." Damon headed upstairs.

"This can't be happening." Elena said. Stefan went over and held her.

"I know, but we'll figure this out."

"What are we going to do?"

"We'll figure out a way to deal with them. All of us."

"I don't know if I could handle it if one of you got hurt because of this." Elena told him. "It's not exactly safe."

"We're all on the same side here, Elena. We've got each other's backs."

At the Grill, Jeremy sat with Anna. "Okay, we have some time. I'm not meeting my mom until later."

"Is she…"

"She's not with the ones from the tomb. She doesn't believe in all that revenge stuff and neither do I." Anna told him.

"Okay. So, how did you get mixed in with all this to begin with?" Jeremy asked. He was wearing one of the lie detector rings.

"I did come to town the night of the comet, but I've been hanging around close to town since last summer." Anna explained. "I overheard a group of vampires talking about getting rid of the Founder's kids."

"So you turned us out of pity?"

"Not exactly." Anna said. "She doesn't know you're hanging out with me, right?"

"Technically, I haven't even told her about what you said last night." Jeremy said.

"Why haven't you?"

"Because I still need answers."

"Look, I didn't do this out of revenge or to hurt you. Truth was, I was working against those rouge idiots."

"Why didn't you stop them?"

"I was undercover." Anna told him.

Meanwhile, Elena was on her way back from the Boarding House. She walked past the trees and toward her car, when she heard something. She turned around and saw the man from last night, the one who'd called her Katherine. Then she noticed a group with him. She recognized some of the vampires from the night she'd died.

She turned around and started to run, when she felt a sharp pain in her back and fell to the ground.

A few hours later, Damon came into the house. "Is Elena still here?"

"No, she left." Stefan told him.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, why are you asking?" Stefan asked.

"If Elena left, then why is her car still out front?" Damon asked him, concerned.

"What?" Stefan went over to the window and saw that Elena's car was still parked out front. "I saw her leave earlier." He quickly tried calling Elena, but it went straight to voicemail. "No answer. Her phone's not even ringing." He looked up at Damon.

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking." Damon told him.

About half an hour later, he found himself at an old house. He knocked on the door. "Pearl, it's Damon. We need to talk." The door opened, but instead of Pearl, he found the other vampire that tried to kill him the other night.

"I'm afraid Pearl's not home." He told him. "Nice weather, isn't it? No sunlight out."

"Where is my brother's girlfriend?" Damon asked.

"Excuse me?"

"The girl you obviously kidnapped. The one who looks like Katherine."

"Oh, her." The vampire turned as though he was addressing someone. "Billy." Two other vampires showed up, with Elena. She looked pretty bad. Her hair was messed up and she looked really pale.

"Damon…" Her voice was weak.

"Let her go, she has nothing to do with this." Damon said.

"How are you going to stop us? There's like, fifteen of us and only one you."

"Damon…find…Jer…" Elena managed to get out.

"What do you have against her?"

"Nothing personal. Just that she should've stayed dead. It's thanks to her little neighbors we got stuck in there in the first place." The vampire told him. Elena realized what he meant then, but she couldn't do anything about it due to the stake in her back and the vervain. "Have a nice day."

Back at the Boarding House, Stefan was waiting to hear from Damon, when he finally walked into the room. "Did you find her? Is she okay?"

"The tomb vampires got her." Damon told him. "I can't take them alone."

"Then I'll go with you."

"There's no way I can go in with you and guarantee we'll both come out alive."

"It's Elena, Damon."

"Why did they take her, anyway?" Stefan asked him.

"I think the leader was her murderer." Damon explained.

"There has to be something we can do. There must be some way to get her out of there, right?"

"We're going to need help with this one." Damon told him.

At Mystic Falls High School, Alaric was heading to his classroom, when he noticed Damon. "Is this a bad time?"

"What are you doing here?" Alaric asked.

"We need your help, Alaric." Stefan told him.

They headed into the classroom to explain the problem. "A group of vampires kidnapped Elena." Stefan explained. "We'd normally handle it on our own, but there's too many to take on by ourselves."

"And we can't reach Jeremy." Damon said. "I tried calling him, but…"

"That ring you wear keeps you from dying permanently, right?" Stefan asked.

"That's right. Look, I don't want anything to happen to Elena, either, but this seems too risky." Alaric told them.

"I'll try to reach Jeremy again." Stefan said. "Maybe if the four of us work together, we can save her."

"How do we know it won't be too late by then?" Damon asked. Alaric looked at them, deciding he'd better help out.

Back at the Grill, Jeremy was still talking with Anna. "Why did you pretend to work for them?"

"This town was my home before my mother was captured, but I would never want anyone here to get hurt." Anna said.

"So how were you able to turn us?" Jeremy asked. "In order to turn…"

"You need vampire blood in your system. I know." Anna said.

"But we don't remember anything aside from being ambushed. We have no clue how it got into us." Jeremy told her.

"During one of the meetings, I heard them planning to take out two kids that were hanging around the cemetery." Anna said. "That afternoon, I saw you two there."

"You were spying on us?"

"I was keeping an eye on you, in case anything happened. Then they sprang their attack, but you fought back anyway." Anna said. "I ended up in the middle of the fight. You got knocked out, so I gave you my blood."

"And Elena?"

"Head injury. Unfortunately, they weren't done with you two yet." Anna said. "But I wasn't sure you'd turned until that night in the woods."

"So you really were looking out for us." Jeremy said.

"Normally we don't turn people for protection, but I can't stand the thought of innocent people being killed." Anna told him.

"You know, you're a lot different than I thought you were." Jeremy said.

"You know what they say, don't judge a book by it's cover." Anna told him. She noticed her mom enter the Grill. "I'll text you…" Jeremy's phone vibrated. He looked at the message. "What is it?"

"Elena's in trouble." Jeremy said.

"I'm sorry, I need a minute." Anna walked over to her mother. "Hey, mom."

"Did you get everything?"

"Yeah, the blood bank was understaffed due to the rain. It was easy."

"Who were you talking to?"

"A friend." Anna told her.

In the classroom, the guys were looking at Alaric's weapons. "Whoa. It's like you're Van Helsing or something." Damon commented.

"You know what they always say, be prepared for anything. That includes vampires."

"Vervain darts?" Stefan picked up one of the needles.

"Surprisingly, they were Isobel's idea." Alaric said.

"Jeremy's still not answering." Damon said, looking at his phone.

"We're going to have to start without him. Chances are, he probably won't even be able to get in the house." Stefan said. "Unless you wanna wait for them to kill the human."

"Please, we just have to get in, find her, and get out before they try to kill all of us."

"It's Elena, remember?" Stefan pointed out. "There's a good chance we might not come out alive."

"It's part of what I do all the time." Damon told him.

"Knock it off." They looked at Alaric. "Look, we're all putting our lives at risk here. Elena's a good person, I don't doubt that. And there's no way I'm going to let them kill her. So we can either work together or just give up."

"How are we going to get around them?" Stefan asked.

"I'm generally pretty good at finding them without them noticing."

"You really think we can do this?"

"If we cover each other, it might work. We need to keep focused and get out of there without being seen…if that's possible."

"Let's go."

**A/N: Let's just hope they'll be able to save Elena in time. Anyway, sorry again for the late update. I'm trying to do better. Next chapter, we'll find out if Jeremy will be able to help them with this little mission. Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter. And for those of you interested, the sequel for The Protector Diaries is up. **


	28. Rescue Mission Part II

The group got back to where they were holding Elena captive. "You sure this is the place?" Stefan asked.

"I'm sure." Damon told him.

Alaric went over and knocked on the door. The guys were going to sneak around back and check the basement. One of the tomb vampires opened the door. "Good, someone's home. Could I borrow your phone? My car broke down a few miles from here. I hope it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all." Alaric went into the house.

"Thanks."

"Billy, please show him where it is."

"No problem." He led Alaric into the kitchen, where Miss Gibbons was. "Hey, Miss Gibbons, this guy wants to use your phone."

"It's right there."

"Thank you." Alaric headed toward the phone. Just when Billy came up behind him, he turned around and staked him through the heart.

"What's going on here?"

"Look, Miss Gibbons, you might want to get out of here." Alaric told her. "There's another house about a block away, you can stay there for a few hours. By the way, have you seen a young girl around here?"

"I think so." She told him. "Fredrick and his friends took her down to the basement."

"Thanks for the info. Now you might want to leave before things get messy."

Meanwhile, the Salvatores were headed to the back entrance, careful to stay hidden. Stefan started to move, but Damon pulled him back and motioned for him to be quiet. "Billy, Jacob, get back in here!" They stayed hidden a few more minutes before moving.

They headed downstairs to the door leading to the lower level of the house. The door was locked. "Any ideas?" Stefan asked. When he turned around, he noticed Damon was missing. He noticed the glass in the door, punched it out and unlocked it. As soon as he got downstairs, he spotted one of the vampires out in the hallway.

Suddenly, it fell to the ground. As he fell, Stefan saw a stake in his back and Damon behind him. "Took you long enough."

"How did you…"

"Climbed through the window." Damon said. "We better get moving."

At the Grill, Jeremy was on his way out. Anna ran into her mother on her way to catch up with him. "Jeremy Gilbert? That's what you've been up to?"

"He's my friend." Anna told her.

"His family's the reason I was stuck in a tomb for over a century." Pearl pointed out.

"He is nothing like Johnathan was." Anna said, keeping her ground.

"As soon as he finds out what you are, he'll turn on you."

"No, he won't. Because he already knows." Anna said. "And he's one of us."

"What?"

"Jeremy and his sister are vampires." Anna told her. "He's my friend and right now, his sister's in trouble. We've got to get home and help him save her."

Pearl looked at her, surprised by this new information. "Then we better be on our way."

Meanwhile, Jeremy had been stopped by Vicki. "Hey, where are you two going?"

"It's not important." Jeremy said.

"Funny, doesn't look like it."

"Look, she's just trying to help me find my sister. She got lost in the storm." Jeremy told her.

"Well, what happens if you get lost?"

"You know what, can we not do this?" Jeremy asked, getting frustrated. "I'll call if I need anything." He left, with Anna shortly following him.

"What is up with you, Vic?" Tyler asked. "You jealous or what?"

"I guess I am." Vicki said. "I'm sorry, Ty."

"It's fine, but I don't know if I can handle you being jealous over some guy that you're not even with anymore." Tyler said.

"Ty, don't…"

"I'm sorry, Vicki. But it's over. I don't know how we can get past this." Tyler told her.

Meanwhile, in the basement of the house, Elena was tied up by vervain ropes. She looked over at the other vampire in the room. He tried to help her escape, but ended up getting trapped with her. "I'm sorry about this." Elena told him.

"It's okay." Harper said. "There's no way I'd let them try to hurt you further."

"My friends can get us out of this, but I don't know when they'll be here." Elena told him. Suddenly, the door swung open and the Salvatore brothers entered. "Guys, where's Jer?"

"He's on his way." Damon told her. He looked at Harper. "What are you in for?"

"Trying to get her free."

"It's true. He tried to save me, guys." Elena said.

"We'll get you out of this." Stefan told her. He pulled out a pocket knife and got the ropes off them quickly.

"Okay, Stef, get her out of here." Damon said. "As for you," He turned to Harper. "We might need your help getting out of this."

A few minutes later, Stefan was trying to carry Elena back to the car. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine…" Suddenly, they both fell to the ground due to her losing her footing. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, nothing too major." Stefan said. "Come on. Let's keep going." He helped Elena lean on him for support, then they started walking back toward the car.

Back in the house, one of the vampires was walking around. He noticed one of the others staked. Suddenly, Harper started fighting him. Two vampires came up behind him to buy time for the leader to escape. Damon and Alaric took them out. Harper took out one of the guys behind them.

"What…"

"Apparently, they're not all on the same side." Damon told him. "Besides, he's with us. Come on!" The three of them took off.

Outside, Stefan brought Elena to the car. Then he realized the key was missing. Suddenly, Fredrick appeared and grabbed her. Elena struggled to fight him off. Luckily, Stefan had a vervain dart and used it on him. He collapsed and released Elena.

"Elena, are you okay?" Stefan asked.

"Stefan…" Elena got out.

"Hang in there." He told her. Then he looked at his hurt wrist. "Elena, drink from me."

"Are you sure?" Elena asked.

"Look, you need to recover. I'm willing to help you." He held his wrist to her mouth. She reluctantly drank from him.

"Okay, we have to get out of here." Damon said.

"Yeah, I know."

"We should be out in no time." Harper said. They noticed several more vampires approaching.

"How many of those vervain darts do you have left?" Damon asked.

"One." Alaric said.

"Not good." Suddenly, one of the guys got taken out from behind.

"I hope I'm not too late." Jeremy told them.

"You got here just in time!" Damon called. The others except Jeremy headed back inside, where more vamps were waiting.

"Any ideas?"

"None."

"Stop!" The group turned around. Pearl and Anna had arrived. Anna looked like she'd been fighting alongside Jeremy. "What is going on here?"

"You're little friends here kidnapped my sister." Jeremy called from the doorway.

"And spent the whole day torturing her." Damon said.

"How could this have happened?"

"Here's how, most of these guys, unlike us, want revenge on the town, not peace." Harper said.

"We better get out of here." Jeremy said.

"I'm sorry about this." Anna told him.

"Hey, it wasn't all you this time." Jeremy said. He and the others left.

Back by the car, Fredrick was getting up. Suddenly, Elena rushed over and took him out. "Never mess with me again." She turned to Stefan. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

That evening, the two of them were sitting up in her room. "Are you sure you're okay now?" Stefan asked her.

"I'm fine." Elena told him. "Thanks to you. You know it was a risk helping me today."

"I'd do anything to help you, Elena."

"I know, but it's risky in more ways than one. Sometimes when we feed off a human, especially one we have a connection with, a bond can form between them." Elena explained.

"Whoa."

"At least we're both safe now."

"Yeah." He put his arm around her. It wasn't long before they both fell asleep next to each other.

At the Grill, Damon found Alaric sitting at the bar. "Hey, thanks for the help."

"No problem. I won't let anyone hurt Elena." Alaric told him.

"Neither will I. As far as I'm concerned, the Gilbert kids are as innocent as any normal person here." Damon told him.

Jeremy headed up to his room and was surprised to find Anna there. "Hey."

"I'm really sorry about Vicki." Anna said. "I feel responsible for what happened with them."

"Hey, I feel bad about it, too, but I can't help it if she's jealous that we're friends." Jeremy told her.

"Yeah, guess she felt threatened by the fact that I really like you." Anna said.

"What?"

"Did I just say that out loud?" Anna asked. Jeremy nodded. The next thing he knew, she had run off. He sat down on his bed, feeling really confused about the whole situation.


	29. The Blood Bond

Elena was getting ready to head to school. "Jer, come on! We've got school! Let's go." Jenna stopped her.

"Forgot this." She handed her a thermos.

"Thank you." Elena opened the door and was surprised to find John outside.

"Elena!"

"Uncle John! Hi."

"Jenna."

"John, you're here." Jenna said.

"I said I'd be here before noon."

"What you say and what you do are generally two different things." Jenna said. Elena was in shock. What would happen if their uncle found out about them? Just then, Jeremy came down stairs.

"Uncle John! What a surprise."

"Hey, kid." John looked at the family. "I had some business in town, thought a visit was in order."

"How long are you staying?" Elena asked.

"I don't know yet."

"Well, we have to get to school. See you later." Elena said. They both headed out the door before he could say anything else.

"So, how are we going to hide everything?" Jeremy asked.

"I'll see if Stefan or Anna can help." Elena told him. "It'll be fine."

"Yeah, I guess." Jeremy said.

At the school, Elena finished explaining things to Matt. "He said his trip is open ended."

"Uncle John, never really liked that guy." Matt said.

"Does anyone?" Elena pointed out.

"Is he really that bad?" Stefan asked, joining them.

"He can be a little mean sometimes." Elena said. "And he's on the Council." She whispered to him.

"I'm here for moral support if you need me." Matt told her.

"Thanks, but don't you have your own family crisis to deal with?" By now, almost everyone had heard about Vicki and Tyler's break-up.

"I know, but it's kinda getting worse. It's a miracle Vic and my mom are even talking." Matt said.

"Well, if you need me…" Elena began.

"Thanks."

"I'm guessing you're girlfriend's not helping." Stefan told him.

"You have no idea." Matt said. "She tried to console her, but I think she made it worse, going on and on about how Tyler acted like such a jerk."

"And you're caught in the middle considering that you two are friends." Elena said.

"Exactly."

Outside, Jeremy was outside with Tyler. "Hey."

"Hey. I'm guessing you heard."

"I'm just sorry I'm the reason you guys broke up." Jeremy told him.

"It's no big deal, man."

"Maybe not to you, but Vicki's pretty upset about it."

"Well maybe she should think about who she should be going out with instead of hitting on practically half the guys in school." Tyler said. He got up and left.

Elena met Alaric in his classroom. "Hey, I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm okay, thanks to you guys."

"Would've been in trouble if you're brother hadn't shown up."

"I'm just glad that it's over." Elena said.

"How do you deal with all this? I mean, you have to lie to almost everyone."

"It's not safe for them to know about this." Elena said. "Not even Jenna."

"What about the blood bond with Stefan?"

"I think it'll be fine." Elena said. "Besides, they're temporary at best."

After school, the Gilbert family except for Elena were upstairs. "I'm really not interested in the Founder's Day kickoff party." Jeremy said.

"It's tradition." John pointed out.

"It will be our role to break tradition." Jenna told him.

"The Gilberts have been a part of this town for over a hundred and fifty years." John said. "We're one of the founding families and that means we have to be there. One day when you understand more about it, I'll tell you more about your heritage." Jeremy just listened, figuring it was better not to tell him he already knew everything.

"Right, the Gilbert Family Legacy." Jenna said. "I forgot how sacred it was. I'm not a Gilbert, so I was never cool enough to hear it."

"Why does she hate you?" Jeremy asked while her back was turned.

"We used to sleep together." John told him. Suddenly, a bag was thrown at him.

"I'm standing right here." She pointed out.

Upstairs, Elena and Stefan were hanging out together. "How did you guys know where to find me the other day?"

"Pearl told Damon where they were staying, and I'm guessing Jer hitched a ride with Anna." Stefan told her.

"I'm glad he showed up when he did." Elena said. "If he hadn't, you guys would probably be…"

"Yeah, I know. Still nothing on Isobel?"

"I haven't been looking." Elena said. "Not since the fundraiser."

"How are you, anyway?"

"I'm okay." Elena said. "Though I am worried about what'll happen if John finds out about us."

"You can always move your supplies into our downstairs store room."

"Thanks."

"It's weird, but for some reason, it's like I can feel what you feel."

"It's the blood bond." Elena explained. "We can sense each other's emotions."

"Is it always like that?"

"I don't know. I've only heard of them."

"Do they last long?"

"It depends. They can last anywhere between a few days or couple weeks." Elena said.

"Maybe we should talk with someone that might know more about this stuff." Stefan suggested.

"You're right. Hey, thanks for stopping by." She said as he started to get up.

"Anytime. I'd do anything to make sure you were okay getting back home." He pointed out. She kissed him lightly before he left.

A few minutes later, Damon showed up. "Thanks for coming."

"You know I'd always come if you needed help. What's up?" Elena led him upstairs so they could talk privately. "By the way, your Uncle's been hanging around the Founder's Council."

"What?" Elena groaned. "That's just great. If he finds out what we are, he'll have us killed."

"So what's up?" Damon asked.

"What do you know about blood bonds?" Elena asked. "Between vampires and humans."

"I know that while it's in effect, it can be different depending on the person. Sensing emotions, others can hear thoughts, sometimes they can read each other's aura, but that one's rare." Damon told her.

"Do you have any idea how long they last?"

"I think it all depends on the connection between the two. It could be a few days, or it could be up to at least two weeks."

"Is there any way to break it?" Elena asked him.

"Not that I know of. If there is a way to break a blood bond, it would probably be painful for both parties involved. The best solution is to wait for it to fade."

"How do you know so much about this stuff?"

"I've done research on this stuff ever since I thought those guys…never mind." He said quickly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that back up." Elena said. She knew he was probably still hurting over the whole Katherine thing.

"It's no problem. I've got bigger things to worry about than this."

That afternoon, Elena and Jeremy were walking through the park. "I can't believe that she's the one that did this." Jeremy told her.

"You mean Anna? Actually, I'm kinda relieved she did." Elena said.

"Why?"

"Because we still have each other. I don't want to think of what would have happened if only one of us survived."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Alaric mentioned you helped them out the other day." Elena said, changing the subject. "How'd you find out where we were?"

"Anna and I convinced her mother to help when we explained the problem." Jeremy told her.

"I haven't seen her around lately."

"She's probably been busy. I still feel bad about Vicki and Tyler breaking up, though."

"It wasn't you're fault."

"Easy for you to say." Jeremy said. A thought came to him then. "Is this what it was like when you broke up with Matt?"

That night, the group reluctantly attended the Founder's Party. "Are you sure you wanna be here? These things can get pretty boring." Elena said.

"We kinda have to be here, we're a founding family, too, remember?"

"Just saying."

"You okay? You seem kind of…"

"Just having a little problem with my brother, but it's not too serious." Elena said.

"This still about Vicki, isn't it?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah." Elena said. "It's complicated." She left the room, only to run right into Damon, literally.

"Sorry."

"It's okay, I'm not hurt." Elena told him. "What's up?"

"I just saw you're brother down the hall. He seemed a little depressed." Damon told her. "I figured you'd want to talk to him."

"Thanks."

She found him sitting by himself. "Jer?" He looked at her. "Damon said you had a run in with Vicki."

"Yeah. Her mother told me never to go near her again." Jeremy said. "I was trying to apologize about the whole thing with Tyler."

"She's probably just trying to keep her from getting hurt." Elena said.

"I know."

"Are you really okay?"

"I just feel really guilty about it. Is this what it was like when you and Matt broke up?"

"Yeah, it was hard and I felt guilty for a while." Elena admitted. "But then we were both able to move on and found other people. One day, so will you."

"Yeah, you're right. I just wish I wasn't the reason they broke up."

"Hey, she was jealous." Elena said. "It happens. But she'll find someone who loves her for who she is."

A little while later, she ran into Matt. "Hey. I didn't know you were coming."

"The girls wanted to be here, so I kinda got dragged along." Matt explained. "I'm just glad they're on a civil tone for once."

"Yeah, thank goodness for that." Elena said.

"Anyway, we should get going soon. I just need to find them."

"I'll help." Elena offered. They headed upstairs. "Uh, Matt…" They entered a room to find Tyler and Mrs. Donovan talking.

"Stay away from my kids from now on."

"Matt's my friend. You're not going to stop me from seeing him."

"Try me."

"Mom, it's fine." Matt said, entering the room.

"No, I forbid him from coming to our house. He broke my daughter's heart."

"Yeah, well guess what? Tyler's my friend and Vicki and I have been doing better off without you in our lives."

"Matt…"

"Just go. Don't even talk to me right now…"

"Matt, just let me explain…"

"Explain what? How you're being a horrible parent right now?" Vicki asked, entering the room.

"No kidding. At least my mom's not a control freak." Tyler said. Suddenly, Matt struck him.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother that way."

"You know what they say, you can't fight the truth." Next thing everyone knew, they were fighting each other.

"Ty! Tyler, stop it!" Vicki yelled. A crowd had gathered, watching the scene in front of them. Elena looked at them, scared for Matt. It took a while, but finally, the Mayor and Carol were able to break it up.

Elena felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? What happened?" She relaxed when she heard her boyfriend's voice.

"They got into a fight. It was kinda intense." She explained.

"I don't believe this." A voice said.

"Vicki?" Tyler asked.

"I've never seen anyone so reckless before." Vicki told him. "Do you realize what happened here? You could've killed him, Ty. You could've killed my brother."

"I don't know what happened, I just got so angry…"

"Save it." Vicki said. "It makes me glad we're broken up. I didn't realize what a jerk you were until now." She walked out of the room, helping Matt on the way out.

The Gilberts returned home shortly after that little disaster. "Not so excited that we have another month of these Founder's Day events." Jenna said.

"Tell me about it." Elena said.

"I'm just glad Vic's doing okay." Jeremy told her, heading to his room.

Elena headed into her room, to find Stefan waiting for her. "Whoa. A little warning would've been nice."

"Sorry."

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Elena told him. "How did you find me so fast, anyway?"

"I felt your fear back there. My only thoughts from that point were about making sure you weren't hurt or anything." Stefan explained. Elena sat down next to him and took his hands.

"You're worried about me."

"Yeah, I am."

"Man, this bond thing is strange." Elena said.

"You're telling me. At least it'll only be another few days, right?"

"I hope so." Elena told him. "Hey, we'll get through this together. I know it." They embraced each other then. "I love you, no matter what happens."

"I love you too."


	30. Miss Mystic Falls

Elena was headed toward the school, when she noticed a familiar car in the parking lot. She walked over to where Stefan was. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Ready for today?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, as ready as I will be."

"How have you been doing with the whole bond thing?" Elena asked.

"I'm okay with it. I mean, I'm a little used to it by now. And you?"

"I'm doing okay." Elena told him. "Really." She pecked his lips before they headed inside.

During history class, Alaric was explaining how the normal curriculum got pushed aside due to Founder's Day events, when Elena saw a familiar face walk in. "Sorry I'm late."

"Well, looks like we will be on full occupancy today. Welcome home, Bonnie."

Bonnie sat down next to Elena, but avoided looking at her and Stefan. The pair looked at each other, realizing something was up.

In the hall, she caught up to Bonnie. She stopped when she saw Elena in front of her. "Hey."

"Hey."

"How are you doing?" Elena asked. "I've been worried about you since…"

"It's been hard." Bonnie said.

"We've all missed you here."

"Yeah, I just had to deal with a lot lately." Bonnie said. "I needed time to think after you told me the spell failed."

"I just thought you should know before you came back." Elena said.

"I understand, but I wish you hadn't told me."

"Bonnie, you're back!" Caroline ran over and embraced her. "How are you?"

"I've been better." Bonnie said. "I need to keep busy, you know?"

"I can help with that. You can help me pick out the perfect dress for the Founder's Court." Caroline said. This was news to Elena.

"The Founder's Court?" Elena repeated. "What's going on?"

"Hello? Miss Mystic Falls. They announced it today and we're both on it." Elena felt panicked for a moment.

"We signed on for this so long ago. I completely forgot."

"So, you dropping out then?" Caroline asked.

"I can't." Elena said, looking sad.

"Her mom wanted her to do this." Bonnie explained.

After school, Elena had told Stefan about the pageant and asked him to be her date. They ended up having dance practice with the other contestants. They kept laughing.

"This is ridiculous." Elena said.

"I know."

"Why are we doing this again?" Elena asked.

"Because someone forgot about this contest."

"Hey, what do you expect?" Elena pointed out as they practiced. "Been a little busy with…you know, lately."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can avoid doing this." He said.

As soon as practice was over, they ran into Bonnie and Caroline out in the hallway. "Hey."

"Are you okay?"

"I asked her to fill in for Matt."  
>Caroline explained. "He had work today." Elena looked over at Bonnie.<p>

"Bonnie, you have a minute?"

"We only have thirty minutes for rehearsal." Bonnie pointed out.

"I'll just take a minute." Elena said.

They walked away from the others. "Bonnie, what's going on with you?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Bonnie told her.

"You've been avoiding us all day." Elena pointed out. "Is it because of me?"

"Everything she did was to protect us from those tomb vampires. And now they're out." Bonnie pointed out.

"We're working on it." Elena said. "We can stop them if we work together. We got most of them when they kidnapped me the other day."

"They did what?" Bonnie asked, stunned by this information.

"Is there anything I can do?" Elena asked.

"All we can do I guess is try to work together. I still feel awful about things, though." Bonnie said.

"I'm sorry about everything." Elena told her. "It never would've happened if I hadn't asked you to let Anna out."

"Hey, it's not entirely you're fault. If I were stronger at the time, I could've saved her."

A few days later, the group was at the Founder's Hall. Damon noticed Anna out on the balcony. "You going to run, too?"

"It's only for Founder's kids." Anna pointed out. "I remember the first one. I was supposed to enter, but then everything happened."

"Must've been hard."

"Please, I'm so over the whole girly-girl phase." Anna said. "I'm guessing you're not here to talk about you're brother being an escort."

"John Gilbert thinks your mom stole an artifact from Jonathan senior before she was captured." Damon explained.

"Since when are you on his side?"

"I'm not." Damon told her. "Look, exposing them means exposing you and those Gilbert siblings, and I know you're not the bad ones. Whatever the device is, we can't let him get it."

"Look, I wish I could trust you, Damon." Anna said. "But you've proven you couldn't care less about what side we're on."

"Hey, if we're going to track down those tomb vampires, we need to work together." Damon pointed out.

"I'll think about it." Anna said. She walked away.

A few minutes later, Jeremy found her. He had decided to go with the rest of the family to support his sister, and to keep an eye out in case anything tried to crash the event. "Anna."

"Hey."

"Are you okay? I haven't seen you around lately." Jeremy said.

"We've been busy. Mom basically kicked the other vampires out, so it's just us and Harper now." Anna told him.

"You know they still want revenge, right?"

"Yeah, but I know we can handle it." Anna said. She seemed reluctant to trust him, knowing he was close with the Salvatores.

"Look, I didn't trust him at first, either." Jeremy said. "But he's helped us a lot before you showed up."

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Anna asked.

"Kinda hard not to." Jeremy pointed out.

"Well, that's embarrassing."

"A girl like you getting embarrassed?" They both laughed.

Upstairs, Elena and Caroline were waiting to be called. "I never knew so many people would show up here." Elena said.

"I know. Even my fill in escort had trouble finding the place."

"What happened to Matt?" Elena asked.

"He couldn't get out of work." Caroline explained. "At least you're date showed up."

"Yeah." Elena sighed. She wasn't sure if she should even be involved in this, considering the group meeting they had earlier that morning. "Maybe I shouldn't be doing this."

"What are you saying?" Caroline asked.

"It just doesn't feel right, I shouldn't have entered. This isn't who I am anymore."

"Oh, no. No. You are not throwing in the towel now. Believe me, you had your chance to quit, it's too late now and I would've been all for it, but this is important to you." Caroline said. "You're doing this for your mom." Elena looked at her, knowing she was right and remembering why she was in this.

"So, I'm guessing you're sister's in this." Anna guessed. She and Jer were still in the hall.

"Our mom wanted her to do this." Jeremy told her.

"I can understand that." Anna said.

"Hey, about the other day…why'd you run off?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know. I was a little embarrassed by what I'd said, not to mention the whole thing with Vicki…"

"That wasn't you're fault." Jeremy told her. "Besides, after the disaster at the Founder's party, she's pretty much over him anyway."

"You used to go out with her, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"That's always the hard part." Anna said. "It gets easier, though. But I meant what I said the other day. I really like you, Jeremy, but…"

"Anna." Jeremy interrupted. "You don't need to explain. Besides, I like you, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah." They looked at each other.

"We better get out there, she'll be down any minute."

Elena was headed downstairs. Thanks to her pep talk with Caroline, she knew she could do this. She and Stefan walked outside. "You okay?"

"Yeah, let's just get it over with." They managed to get through the dance without messing up.

A few minutes later, the girls were all on stage. "I told you you could do this." Caroline was telling Elena.

"I guess it was just a case of nerves."

"Before I crown a winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Mayor Lockwood announced. Everyone cheered for them. "So, without further due it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!"

"Congratulations!" Elena told her, embracing her friend.

"I actually won."

In the hallway, Elena ran into Bonnie, Damon, and Stefan. "What's going on?"

"There were signs of a struggle outside." Damon explained. "We think it's one of them."

"Guess they really don't respect anything anymore." Elena said.

"I think I can stop him before he hurts anyone. Come on!" Bonnie said. The four of them ran outside.

It wasn't long before they saw one of the tomb vampires outside. "Hey!" He turned around. The girl behind him collapsed.

"Okay, Bonnie, you said you knew how to stop him. Do something!" Damon said.

"Get ahold of yourself first!" Elena told him. Suddenly, he fell to the ground in pain. The others all looked at Bonnie, who was concentrating on him. It wasn't long before he completely collapsed.

"Is he…"

"No, just knocked out." Bonnie said. Elena went over to the girl, healing her and compelling her to calm her down.

A few minutes later, they were speaking with Sheriff Forbes. "She doesn't remember what happened."

"It's a good thing they got here. She lost a lot of blood."

"Did you see anything?" The group looked at each other.

"It looked like was being attacked, but suddenly, he just dropped." Elena explained.

"She'll be okay, right?" Bonnie asked.

"Looks like it." Sheriff Forbes told them. "Why don't you two get back to the party? Damon and I will take care of things here."

"Alright." Elena said. The girls left the area. "You've been practicing, haven't you?"

"It was nothing really." Bonnie said. "I did what I had to."

"Hey, this is hard on all of us right now." Elena pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Bonnie told her. "But I don't think I should be involved anymore than I have to be."

Elena watched her leave the area. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"How'd you know where to find me?" She asked, turning to glance at her boyfriend.

"I felt how sad you were."

"It's just a little tense with Bonnie and me right now." Elena explained. "You don't have to be so worried about me you know."

"I can't help it, knowing that they're after you, too."

"I'm more scared about what'll happen to you." Elena told him.

"It's getting harder to tell if it's the blood bond or not."

"I read somewhere that the bond can bring out everything. Not that we weren't overly concerned about each other to begin with." Suddenly, she felt as though a rush of energy left her. She nearly collapsed, but Stefan caught her.

"You felt that, didn't you?"

"I think it's gone." Elena told him.

"Well, at least we won't be reading each other's feelings all the time."

"Maybe, but I can still read you like a book." Elena told him.

"Really?" They both laughed.

"We should probably get back with the others." Stefan told her.

"Good idea." They both headed back inside, holding hands.


	31. Meeting Isobel

At school, Elena and Stefan were in the cafeteria. Elena was already running late for helping the others with the float designs. Alaric walked over to them. "Hey, Mr. Saltzman."

"Come with me. We need to talk." The two of them looked at each other and followed him into the classroom. A few minutes later Damon showed up.

"Sorry I'm late. What's going on?" He asked, noticing the concerned looks on everyone's faces.

"I saw Isobel last night." Alaric said.

"Isobel's here? In town?" Damon asked.

"Apparently." Elena said.

"So, what is she doing here anyway?" Damon asked.

"She wants to see me." Elena answered.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange the meeting." Stefan told him. "We don't know why or what she wants."

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know." Damon said.

"I have no choice, Damon." Elena said.

"She threatened to go on a killing spree." Alaric explained.

"Oh."

"I have to do this." Elena said. "Besides, it's about time we met anyway."

At the Grill, Elena was waiting for Isobel. "Hey, thanks for coming." She said.

"No problem. I just hope your boyfriend doesn't mind filling in for me helping the others at school." She heard her brother respond. She'd asked Jeremy to come for support.

A woman with long dark hair came sat down. "Hello Elena." She looked at her. "You look just like her, that's eerie."

"You've met Katherine?"

"She found me after I turned." Isobel explained. "She'd be fascinated by you."

"Is that how you can walk in the day?" Elena asked, looking at her necklace.

"Katherine helped me obtain it."

"Who's my father?"

"Not important. He was a waste of space."

"A name would be nice." Elena said, getting angry.

"You ask a lot of questions." Isobel noted.

"Do humans mean nothing to you?" Elena asked, though she had a feeling she knew the answer.

"Means nothing at all. It's part of who I am."

"That's not true, I know other vampires."

"You mean like you're little friend over there?" Isobel asked.

"My brother, yes." Elena said. "And a few others."

"I'm surprised you're even dating a human at all." Isobel said. "Don't you know it would never work?" Elena looked at her, surprised by her coldness.

Outside, the Salvatores were with Alaric. "We should be in there." Damon said.

"No, Isobel made it clear we're not to step a foot inside." Alaric told him.

"It's not like we're planning to kill her or anything." Damon said. Alaric looked at him.

"You'll have to excuse my brother. He's a little insensitive sometimes." Stefan told him.

"She was my wife, you know." Alaric pointed out. "I looked for the woman I married, but she's not there. Whoever that is, she's cold and detached."

"Sounds like she's given up her humanity." Damon said.

"That's what I don't get." Alaric said. "The Gilbert kids have their humanity and their good people, but with her there was nothing."

"Well, the Gilberts are young and only have months of experience." Damon said. "A lot of vampires choose to turn it off, not feel anything. I guess it's why most of them decide to prey on others." Stefan looked over at his brother. He wondered that if Jeremy or Elena decided to turn it off, would he ever go after them?

Back inside, Elena was still talking with Isobel. "Why did you want to meet me? Can't be to just catch up." Elena said.

"Because I'm curious about you." Isobel said. "But the real reason is: I want what your uncle wants. Jonathan Gilbert's invention." That surprised Elena.

"How do you know my uncle?"

"I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. John had a crush on me for years. He was the first one that told me about vampires."

"So what made you want to be one?" Elena asked.

"It's a very long list of reasons, Elena. All of which I'm sure you've thought about." Isobel said. "Isn't that why you're one?"

"No." Elena told her firmly. "There was an incident, and the next thing I knew, my brother and I were turned."

"Yet you still try to remain human." Isobel said. "It's inevitable though, Stefan will get older, but you won't." Jeremy glanced at Elena. He knew she was hiding her sadness because she didn't want Isobel to see it.

"I'm sorry but I don't have what you're looking for." Elena said. She got up, but Isobel grabbed her arm. Elena managed to push her off.

"Strong, aren't you?" Isobel commented. "I want the invention."

"I don't have it." Elena told her.

"I know that but Damon does and you're going get it for me." Isobel pointed out.

"He's not going to give it to me." Elena said.

"Then the blood will be on your hands." Isobel told her. She got up. "It was nice meeting you, Elena."

Jeremy went over to Elena. "You okay?" She shook her head and fell into his arms, practically collapsing in tears. Just then, Bonnie noticed them.

"Elena? What happened?"

"We just had a run-in with her birth mother." Jeremy explained. "It wasn't pretty."

"Come on, you can tell me about it on the way home." Bonnie said, holding her friend.

"I'll let the guys know what happened." Jeremy told Elena. Elena nodded to him, not trusting her voice.

A few hours after explaining everything to the guys, Jeremy was headed upstairs. He was on the phone. "Hey, Anna. We have a lot of catching up to do. Please call me when you get this." He hadn't seen Anna in a few days. The two of them had started seeing each other, but she hadn't been answering his calls lately.

"So, how's Anna?" Jenna asked him. "I like that girl. She's got a lot of spark."

"I don't know." Jeremy told her. "She hasn't answered any of my calls."

"Girl trouble?" He turned around in surprise, finding Uncle John standing there.

"No, no trouble. Anna just owes me a call, that's it." Jeremy told him.

"Is that the girl that I show you with at the founder's pageant?" Jeremy nodded. "You two are getting hot and heavy. When was the last time you saw her?"

"Why?" Jeremy asked him. He seemed suspicious.

"I was just making conversation. No one else in this house likes me. At least I can talk to you especially if you need someone to talk to about girls." John told him

"Oh please! I'm eating." Jenna pointed out. She got up and left the kitchen.

"So seriously, how well do you know Anna?" John asked.

"I know Anna extremely well." Jeremy told him, trying to control his anger.

"I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything. I'm here to answer any questions that you have, to help you in any way I can." John said.

"Why?"

"Because your dad would want me to."

"You don't know what my dad would want." Jeremy told him. "We're actually a lot better off without you." He left the room and headed upstairs.

Isobel entered her house and was surprised to see Damon talking to one of her friends. "So you don't know why she's here?"

"No."

"Well, this is a surprise." Isobel said. "Cherie, could you give us a moment?" She left the room.

"Nice to see you're alive, Isobel." Damon said. "I see you're compelling your little helpers."

"How'd you find me?" Isobel asked.

"I know all the vampire tricks, remember?" Damon told her.

"Right. I forgot you were the vampire tracking expert." Isobel said. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard you about your little threat, so I decided to pay a visit." Damon said. "After all, I did try to save you once."

"So, I hear you have the device." Isobel told him.

"I don't have it with me." Damon told her. "I did a little bit of digging around. How do you know John Gilbert?"

"We dated a few times when we were in high school." Isobel explained. "He was a little bit in love with me."

"One of many guys, I'm sure." He pointed out, remembering Alaric. "What do you want with this thing anyway?"

"Personally, I don't want anything with it." Isobel said. "Though we're on the same side."

"Really? How do I know that?"

"Katherine wanted John to have the device."

"You're doing her dirty work now?" Damon asked. "How typical." He walked out of the room, then he turned around. "Look, you better leave your daughter alone and stop threatening people in this town. Otherwise, I will hunt you down and stake you personally."

Elena was in the living room with Bonnie. "Are you okay?" Bonnie asked her. "I know I've been distant lately and it's partially my own fault. I should've been a better friend."

"It's not you're fault, Bonnie." Elena told her. "But if we don't give Isobel the device, she'll start hurting people."

"Then I'll help you look for it." Bonnie said. "I think I know a way to find it."


	32. Mystery Device

At the high school, everyone was outside working on the floats for the parade. Bonnie was inside, going through Emily's spell book. Elena agreed to meet her there and was running a little late. "Sorry, Caroline held me up."

"No problem. I wanted you to see this."

"Is that Emily's spell book?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, I've been going through it for a while." Bonnie said. "Check this out." Elena sat down next to her and noticed a familiar looking item sketched in.

"That's the vampire compass." Elena realized. Right now, it was safely hidden in Jeremy's room. She knew because they'd made sure of it.

"According to Emily, Jonathan Gilbert never actually succeeded in inventing anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic." Bonnie explained. "Compass, rings and the mystery device you told me about."

"Wow." Elena said. Bonnie showed her the page with the device on it. "That's it."

"Emily pledged her loyalty to Katherine. But she couldn't stand by and watch innocent people get killed. This was the only way she could think of to help. To let Jonathan Gilbert believe that he'd actually invented these devices."

"So, what does this thing do?" Elena asked. Bonnie looked to her, with concern on her face.

"Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?" Bonnie asked her.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Why?" Elena asked.

"This is a weapon. Against vampires." Bonnie explained. Elena looked at her in shock.

"So if this goes off…we risk putting ourselves in danger." The girls looked at each other, both worried.

Outside the school, Elena found Jeremy outside. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Have you seen Stefan around here?" Elena asked. "I need to talk to him."

"No, I haven't seen him." Jeremy told her. "Do you have a second?"

"Yeah. I know what the device does, and it's not good."

"You haven't seen Anna around lately, have you? I've been calling her for days, but she hasn't called back."

"I'm sure that Anna's okay, Jeremy." Elena told him. "Besides, she's a good friend."

"We're more than friends, actually." Jeremy explained. "So, what's wrong? With this device?"

"It's spelled to work against us, Jer."

"You mean…vampires?"

"Yeah. We saw it in Emily's spell book." Elena told him.

"Now I'm even more worried about her." Jeremy said. "I'll try to warn her, I just hope she picks up."

"Jeremy, watch yourself out there." Elena told him. He nodded and took off. She turned around and found Isobel behind her.

"Isobel. What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"I'm your mother, Elena. I want to be more involved in your life." Isobel told her.

"I don't want you in my life." Elena pointed out.

"I understand that. You already have a lot of people that you care about but I've been studying." Isobel said. "Let's see if I got this right. There is the witchy best friend, Bonnie. Gonna stay away from that one. And there's you're pathetic human boyfriend. And there's Caroline… obnoxious Caroline. I got all of my info from her by the way. She had no idea who I was and she wouldn't stop yapping. Oh…And there's Matt, friend, ex, yappy's future ex. Lots of connection there."

"Matt is not involved in this." Elena told her.

"He's involved with you, isn't he?" Isobel pointed out.

"Look, you shouldn't be here. You need to leave."

"No, I have some friends here too. Look, you see that man over here, standing next to Matt by the float? His name is Frank, he's very handsome and he's also quite handy and he'd noticed that the axles are a little rusty which is very dangerous." Isobel said. "So, all you have to do is apply a little bit of pressure and…"

"No!" Elena watched as the trailer collapsed on Matt. She tried to run, but Isobel grabbed her.

"Get this trailer! Come on guys help me!" Matt called. Tyler, Caroline, the football team, Stefan, and Jeremy ran over and got the trailer off of him.

"Call an ambulance." Stefan told Caroline.

"Why are you doing this?" Elena asked.

"I'm showing you how easy it is to hurt the people that you care about." Isobel said.

"And you're doing this just because of Jonathan Gilbert's invention?" Elena asked.

"Hand it over and it will stop."

"I told you, Damon is not going to give it to me." Elena pointed out.

"I think that you underestimate how much Damon cares about you."

"Please, he'd kill both of us first." Elena said.

"Fine. Guess I'll have to talk with my ex again."

The group met in Ric's classroom. "Where is the device?" Bonnie asked.

"Damon has it. He's going to be difficult to reason with." Stefan said.

"We'll go to him, I'll talk to him." Elena said.

"I don't know, isn't it like suicide if we hand it over?" Jeremy asked.

"It's suicide either way, Jer. He's threatened Alaric." Elena pointed out. She turned to Stefan. He seemed hesitant to answer.

"I know my brother, and he'd want to keep this town safe." Elena remembered something then.

"I think I know a way to prevent us from getting caught." She told them.

"Are you sure about this?" Damon asked. The group met up in the Boarding House.

"I'm sure." Elena said.

"If you give this to Isobel, you realize you're putting yourself in danger."

"That's why Jeremy and I will be nowhere near the Founder's events." Elena said. "But the rest of the tomb vampires are still out there, maybe this will finally get rid of them."

"What if you don't make it out in time?"

"She will." Bonnie said. "I trust her."

"And our secret will still be safe." Elena said.

"Besides, if we don't do this, we're still putting the whole town in danger." Jeremy pointed out.

"I think this plan will work, hopefully before Isobel starts killing people." Stefan said.

"And you're sure that they'll make it out okay?" Damon asked Bonnie.

"Of course." Bonnie said. "Elena's my best friend and even though things have been hard lately, I will always trust her."

"The same goes for me."

"And me." Damon handed the device to Elena. Just then, Jeremy received a message.

"Jeremy?"

"I've gotta go. She got to Uncle John." Jeremy said. "Good luck." He left the room.

At home, Jeremy found John on the floor. "You okay?"

"Yeah, took me by surprise though."

"What happened?"

"We've been looking for a weapon that's harmful to vampires." John explained. "We've been trying to get it."

"Why would a vampire help you kill other vampires?" Jeremy asked, then realized how stupid the question was, since he and his sister were trying to get rid of the tomb vampires, too.

"She has her own reasons for wanting them dead." John said. "Look Jeremy, no one ever thought vampires would return to this town. Not in modern times, but they have and we have to destroy them."

"All of them?" Jeremy asked. He showed no emotion, but he was still pretty worried. "What if there were good ones out there?"

"There's no such thing." John told him.

"I don't believe that." Jeremy said. "In fact, that sounds really stupid."

"Well, your dad did. And has his son that should mean something to you." John said.

"Well, my father may have thought differently." Jeremy said. "Besides, what makes vampires any less evil than humans?" He asked him. John watched in surprise as he left the room.

At the Boarding House, Bonnie was doing a spell on the device. This was part of their plan. When the Founder's activated the device, the spell would alert her so that she could tell Elena and Jeremy to run if they weren't out in time. "Okay. We're ready." She told them, handing the device to Elena.

"So, ready?' Damon asked.

"Let's get this over with." Elena said.

In town, Elena was waiting for Isobel to show up. The rest of the group was hiding nearby, in case she tried anything. She turned around, knowing Isobel was behind her.

"Where's the device?" Isobel asked.

"Where's my brother?" Elena countered.

"Relax, I didn't go anywhere near him."

"She's telling the truth." She heard Jeremy answer from a distance.

"Did you think I came here alone?" Isobel asked. At that moment, her henchmen appeared behind Elena. She didn't even turn around.

"I'm not alone, either." Elena said. As if on cue, Bonnie, Damon, and Stefan appeared behind Isobel.

"Impressive." Isobel said. "But you can't save everyone, you know."

"How did you know Damon would give me the device?" Elena asked.

"Because I knew he would put the town over his friends." Isobel explained. "His problem is that he's too soft."

"Don't listen to her." Bonnie whispered to them. "She's just trying to get to you." Elena handed the device to Isobel.

"Thank you." Elena said as Isobel turned to go.

"For what?" Isobel asked.

"For being such a monumental disappointment. It keeps the memory of my real mother perfectly intact." Elena told her.

"Goodbye, Elena." Isobel said. "As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart. She got out. But we all know that you're not Katherine." She left.

Elena was shaking by the time she was gone. She felt Stefan's arms around her. Someone else touched her back. "Come on." Bonnie said. "Let's get you out of here." Elena looked and saw that Damon had left.

Jeremy was up in his room, waiting to hear from Anna or Elena. He was relieved when his sister returned. "Hopefully she'll leave us alone now."

"Yeah. You really think this plan will work?"

"It has to." Elena said. "Have you heard anything from Anna yet?"

"No, nothing."

"Think she's okay?" Elena asked.

"I hope so." Jeremy told her. "I left her a message about the plan, but I don't know if she's with us. She doesn't really trust the humans much."

"You two are really close, aren't you?" Elena asked.

"We're practically dating." Jeremy told her. She looked at him, surprised.

"Jer, we'll all get through this."

"I know, but I still think we should keep a low profile." Elena nodded and left the room. Jeremy headed back to his bed, when Anna suddenly showed up.

"There you are. I've been worried about you." Jeremy said.

"My mother's dead." Anna told him. She looked really upset.

"What?"

"Your uncle…he killed her. She said she was meeting him yesterday."

"I am so sorry." Jeremy said. "I'll kick his ass for you." She laughed a little.

"Thanks. I know I shouldn't be here, but there's nowhere else for me to go." Anna said. Jeremy walked over to her and held her.

"It's okay. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you."

At the Boarding House, Stefan entered the room to find Damon. "You're not upset because of what Isobel said, are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"That you'd always put the safety of the town over you're friends." Stefan said. "We both know that's not true."

"No, the thing is, she's right." Damon said.

"Damon…"

"Just listen for a second. If I had the option, I'd put the safety of others before the safety of our friends." Damon told him.

"I can understand that." Stefan said. "But if you ever do anything to hurt Elena or Jeremy, I'll kill you myself."

"If you want to protect them, I think there's something you should know." Damon said.

"What is it?"

"Isobel said she dated John in high school." Damon explained. "What if she got pregnant when she ran away?"

"And Jenna told Elena that she ended up at her father's office." Stefan said, catching on. "Are you suggesting that John's her real father? Are you sure?"

"I'm not sure of anything these days, Stefan. But who else could it be?" Damon pointed out. He left the room, leaving Stefan in shock.

At the Grill, Bonnie was with Caroline. "You okay?"

"Look, Elena wants me to do something tomorrow, but I'm worried that it might be putting her in danger."

"Hey, I know that you'll find a way to save her. You always find a way, Bonnie."

"You're right, Caroline." Bonnie said. "I'll see you tomorrow." She got up and left. This plan had better work or we're all in trouble, she thought as she headed to her car.


	33. Founder's Day Part I

The whole town had practically turned out for Founder's Day. Stefan was waiting for Elena. "Was that really the style back then?" He turned around, startled.

"What are you doing here, Damon?"

"Carol Lockwood asked me to help supervise."

"Really? Last I checked, she couldn't stand you."

"Okay, actually, it was Jeremy who asked. He said he'd be running late." Damon told him.

"I've been thinking of how to break it to her."

"Yeah, I know. At least she's better than you're last…"

"Don't even go there, Damon. You know she's not Katherine." Stefan said. They turned around to find Elena wearing a beautiful gold dress. Her hair was in curls.

"Hey."

Jeremy was still in his room getting ready. Anna came into the room. "Wow."

"I know, I look stupid. I'm part of the parade, though." Jeremy explained. "Anyway, how are you doing? I feel really bad about things."

"It wasn't your fault, you're uncle's the one who did it." Anna pointed out.

"I know. He hates all vampires, there's just no reasoning with him." Jeremy said.

"Are you worried?"

"Yeah, but I understand in a way. We all want the tomb vampires gone and we all want to protect Mystic Falls."

"You really think we'll be able to get out of range before the device goes off?" Anna asked.

"If Damon gets the timing from John and Bonnie signals us in time, we should be okay." Jeremy told her.

"Once this is over, we should probably leave town."

"Anna, I can't leave my sister." Jeremy pointed out.

"I knew you'd say that." Anna said. "Still, this place won't be safe for me for a while, even after they're gone."

"I guess that's the one good thing about being a vampire, eventually we'll meet again." Jeremy said. "Anyway, wanna check out the parade?"

"I can't, I've got some investigating of my own to do. Meet you later?" He nodded, agreeing with her. Jeremy walked over to her and kissed her before she left.

"Is that even possible?" Elena asked. She was talking with Stefan outside the school.

"There's no proof, but he and Isobel dated and he brought her in for the delivery."

"Man, I've always hated John, but now…"

"Sorry, I just thought you might want to know this." Stefan said.

"I'm glad you told me, but I really hope it's not true. I can't just stand up to him without him finding out." Elena said.

"You should ask about it when you're ready to. I'll be with you if you want." Elena smiled, then looked away.

"As though I don't have enough issues with the family. Jeremy's worried sick over Anna, considering John killed Pearl. I don't want him to go through that kind of pain, not after he already had to end his relationship with Vicki."

"Well, he has a good reason to do it. She nearly lost it when she found out the truth about him."

A few minutes later, she found her brother outside. "Jeremy, there you are. You look great."

"Let's just get this over with." Jeremy said.

"Jeremy, she'll be okay. We all know she's on our side." Elena said.

"Yeah, but she could get caught by the tomb vampires." Jeremy pointed out. "Besides, I have no idea how we're all going to make it out of here in time."

"Jer, trust me. We'll make it."

"I really hope you're right this time, because this could be a disaster." Jeremy said. "We have to go. Everyone else is in position."

It wasn't long before the parade started. Bonnie was in the crowd, watching. She was a little worried about the plan backfiring, but knew she had to get the others out in time. Then she noticed someone familiar in the crowd. "Excuse me, sorry." She said as she made her way through classmates and townspeople. "What are you doing here?"

"John just called a meeting. I wanted to see if you could keep an eye on things here." Damon said.

"No problem. Besides, I've been looking out for the others all day." Bonnie told him.

"Thanks." He started to leave, but then turned back. "If it means anything, I don't want anything to happen to your friends, either." He left.

That afternoon, Elena met Damon at the Grill. She'd changed out of her dress and back into her normal clothes. "I am so glad to be out of that dress." She said.

"Yeah, I heard it actually belonged to someone."

"So, what's up?"

"They're planning to set off the device during the fireworks display." He told her.

"That's good to know." Elena said. "I'll let the others know." She noticed Jeremy sitting in the corner. "Excuse me." She went over to him. "Hey, did you hear that? I mean, not that you'd eavesdrop on purpose."

"Yeah, I heard." Jeremy said. "I'll call them." He left the Grill.

He was about to call Bonnie, when he heard Damon coming up behind him. "I know you're there."

"Look, I know you want to protect Anna, but you need to know we might not be able to save everyone."

"Like that's going to stop me from trying." Jeremy said.

"Don't make the same mistake I did, Jer. I feel for her, but there might be nothing we can do about it."

"Don't even say that." Jeremy told him.

"What's going on over here?" Stefan asked.

"Nothing, we're good." Jeremy said. He left.

"What were you thinking?" Stefan asked as soon as Jeremy was gone.

"I was just telling the truth."

"Look, letting go of Vicki was hard enough for him." Stefan explained. "You know how he feels about Anna, he'd do anything to try and save her."

"I just want to prevent him from getting hurt."

"You mean you don't want him to feel the way you did when you found out Kat wasn't there." Stefan said. He walked away before Damon could say anything else.

That night, Damon was walking around town and was surprised to run into Anna. "What are you doing here?"

"The tomb vampires are planning to attack tonight." Anna told him.

"How do you know?"

"I went undercover and found out." Anna said. "They want the Founding Families dead."

"When is it supposed to start?"

"When the fireworks go off." Anna told him.

"That's when John's setting off the invention." Damon said. "You need to get out of here."

"I know. I'm meeting up with Jeremy." Anna told him. "But we need a distraction so they don't know what's going on."

"I'm on it." Damon said. "You just get out of here." He noticed Alaric a few feet away. "Rick!"

"Yeah?"

"The tomb vampires are here. I might need some back-up."

"Got it." While Alaric ran to his car to get his weapons, Damon called Stefan and Elena.

"Hello?" Elena asked.

"Where are you guys?"

"I'm at home with Stefan." Elena told him.

"Is Jeremy with you guys?"

"No, but he said he'd be here in five minutes. If he's not here in ten, I'll call you."

At the Grill, Anna ran into Jeremy. "You're here."

"Yeah, we gotta go, now." Anna said.

"What's going on?"

"The tomb vampires are all over town square and the device could go off at any minute!" Anna said.

"Okay, calm down. I can get us out of here." Jeremy said.

"But there are police everywhere and you can't drive."

"I'm gonna have to break a few rules, then." Jeremy told her. "Trust me." They ran out of the Grill.

At the town square, Bonnie noticed the tomb vampires around. Suddenly, she got a very bad feeling. The device had been activated.

Back in Elena's room, she'd been writing in her diary, when she got a text from Bonnie. "It's happening now." She looked concerned.

"Jeremy's still out there, isn't he?" Stefan realized.

"Yeah, I'm going to try and find him."

"If you go now, they'll catch you." Elena hesitated. She knew he was right.

Meanwhile, in town, Alaric and Damon noticed several people had collapsed. "What is going on?" Alaric asked.

"The device was activated. Come on, give me a hand here."

Outside the Grill, Jeremy and Anna had both collapsed in pain. "That really hurts!" Anna yelled to him, clutching her head.

"I know. I thought we'd have more time to get out of here before…" Suddenly, Jeremy passed out.

"Jeremy…" She fainted next to him.

Back in town square, Alaric was helping the others. "Think you can handle things here?" Damon told him.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Jeremy." He told him. Without another word, he left the town square as fast as he could.


	34. Founder's Day Part 2

Elena was on her way out the door. "Elena, wait!"

"Stefan, I have to find Jeremy. No one else has seen him." She pointed out. "I think he may have been caught."

"Well, you can't just run in there alone. Do you even know where they are?"

Elena hesitated. "You can come with me or not, but I'm going to find him either way."

Meanwhile, the deputies had brought in a group of vampires to the basement of an old building. "Good job, guys. I'll take it from here." John told them.

Jeremy woke up and realized he was still weak. "Vervain." He heard Anna whisper. She was right next to him. He noticed John was close by. Anna was struggling to get up.

"Anna." Jeremy painfully turned to his side and looked at her. John was right near her.

"Don't!" Jeremy rolled on top of her. "If you kill her, you have to go through me." John looked at him, surprised.

"What are you doing here?"

"You're idiot deputies brought me in." Jeremy told him. "How'd you blackmail the sheriff this time? If you're going to stake me, get it over with." John hesitated. Suddenly, the stake was knocked out of his hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Damon told him.

Outside, Elena and Stefan were looking for Jeremy. "I know he was at the Grill before the device went off." She said.

"So where would John and the others have taken them?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know. Have you heard from Damon?" Elena asked him.

"No." Alaric ran over to them.

"Hey, you guys okay?"

"We can't find Jeremy."

"I saw the deputies taking the vampires to the old Gilbert building." Alaric told them.

"I wonder why Bonnie didn't warn him."

"Didn't you say Jer left his phone at home?" Stefan pointed out.

"Have you seen Damon?"

"He went to find Jeremy."

"We better go." Elena said. They ran off toward the building.

Meanwhile, inside, Damon was standing between John, Anna, and Jeremy. "I still can't believe this."

"It's not easy when it's your family, right?" Damon pointed out. John looked at Jeremy, who was glaring at him.

Anna noticed some of the tomb vampires trying to get up. "Jer, the tomb vampires." She managed. That got the others to notice.

"Uncle John, it's fine." Jeremy said. "Do what you have to do. No matter what happens to us…" He glanced at Anna and took her hand. "We have to prevent the rest of them from tearing the town apart."

"Jeremy, we need to get you out of here." Damon pointed out.

"They vervained us, Damon. We can't move that much." Anna told him.

"We've got to do something."

"Save her." Jeremy told them. "Forget about me."

"Jeremy, no." Anna said.

"It's fine. You gave me another chance to live, it's time I did the same."

"No, I'm not leaving here without you." Anna told him.

"You have to!" Jeremy said. Suddenly, the whole room was on fire. Damon turned to John.

"We need to get out of here!"

"I'm not going without my nephew."

"We don't have time for this! Go!" Jeremy said. Damon grabbed him, and Jeremy caught Anna's arm, trying to help her up. Then they ran out of the building. However, Anna tripped on the way upstairs, taking Jeremy down with her.

"Wait, wait. Where are Jeremy and Anna?" Damon asked as soon as he and John were outside. John looked to the building, realizing that they hadn't made it out.

Outside, Elena and Stefan were running when she heard it. "Oh, no."

"What's wrong?"

"The building's on fire!" Elena said.

They ran into John and Damon outside. "Where's Jeremy?"

"He's trapped in there." John told her.

"I tried to save them." Damon said. "I'm sorry."

"It's not over yet." Elena said. "There might be a way to still save them."

"You can't be serious. You could get killed."

"Jeremy is inside. I'm the only one of us that can get in and out in one piece." Elena pointed out.

"You won't make it, Elena." John said.

"You don't know that."

"Elena, you can't do this." Then she said the words that completely caught him off guard.

"You should know that Jer and I are capable of anything, Father." Elena said. He looked at her.

"You know."

"We weren't sure, but now I am." Then, without another word, she sped toward the side entrance of the building. After a moment of hesitation, the Salvatore brothers followed her.

Elena had opened the door to the building when Bonnie showed up. "You can't go in there. You know what fire will do to you."

"My brother's in there, Bonnie. I don't have a choice." She ran inside.

"She won't last long in that fire." Stefan said, showing up.

"I know, but it's not like we can go after her." Bonnie said. "But I can still help her." She closed her eyes and did a spell.

Inside the building, Elena called Jeremy's name. In the basement, Jeremy looked over at Anna. She was trying to protect him from the fire. He grabbed her hand. Suddenly, he felt the heat fading from the room. He looked over her shoulder, noticing that the fire was disappearing.

Suddenly, Elena kicked open the basement door. "Guys!"

"We've got to help her." Jeremy told her.

"I've got you guys. Hang on." Elena said. She grabbed both of them and sped out of the basement.

Outside, Bonnie stopped the spell and looked at them. "That's it, I did all I could."

"Are they okay, though?" Stefan asked. Suddenly, Elena, Jeremy, and Anna moved out of the building. Anna practically stumbled out.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Bonnie said as she and Stefan hugged the group.

"You okay?" Damon asked Anna.

"I don't think…so…" Suddenly, she passed out, but he caught her.

"Anna?"

"Whoa, she's not looking so good." Bonnie said.

"I'm going to try to help her. You can come if you want." Damon told Jeremy. The three of them left immediately.

At the Grill, Elena and Stefan met up. "Well, the fire's out. They said it was caused by the old wiring."

"How are the others doing?"

"I haven't heard from Damon, but Jeremy said that Anna's okay." Elena said. "Though her burns haven't healed yet."

"Well, I don't think we have to worry about Damon. He can handle himself." Stefan told her.

"I know, I'm just glad he was able to help us. I really trust him as a friend."

"Yeah, but you know he might not always be on your side." Stefan said.

"I do know that, but I just have to believe that he's not as bad as that."

"How can you be sure of that?"

"I took the same risk when I trusted you the first time." Elena told him. They looked at each other. "Anyway, I need to pick up my things from school and check in on Jeremy. I'll call you later." She kissed him before she left.

Jeremy was up in his room. When he'd left, Anna was okay, but she still seemed pretty weak. He heard Damon enter the room. "Hey. How is she?"

"She's still got vervain in her system, so it could take a long time for her to heal."

"I figured. That stuff stings." Jeremy said. "Besides, it happened to me, too." He held out his hand. There was a small burn on it.

"I know you really care about her."

"She's the first one of us I've met that really understands me." Jeremy said.

"I'm just lucky I found the building in time. If I don't want to think of what would've happened if I hadn't been there in time." Damon told him.

"Me neither. You saved us."

"I should probably get going. I don't want to leave your girlfriend alone for too long." Damon told him.

"Just let me know her condition when you get back." Jeremy said.

"No problem."

At the Grill, Bonnie ran into Stefan. "Hey."

"You just missed Elena." Stefan pointed out.

"I was looking for you, actually. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to save them from that fire." Bonnie told him.

"Well, I'm glad that you were able to." Stefan told her.

"I know, but I really need to start practicing more." Bonnie said. "Otherwise, I don't know if I'll be able to help you guys protect this town."

"I know it's a lot to take care of."

"I'll figure this out." Bonnie said. "Emily never gave up, I'm not going to, either."

Damon was leaving the Gilbert House when Elena showed up, carrying her dress from earlier. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking in on Jeremy, letting him know how Anna's doing."

"I see."

"Here, I've got this." He put the dress aside.

"Thanks." Elena said.

"You know, when I first took a position to protect this town, I hated vampires." Damon told him. "Then you two showed me that not all of them were evil."

"Well, you can't judge a book by it's cover." Elena pointed out.

"I almost risked everything to save your brother tonight. Even when the building was on fire, all I could think of was trying to help him." Damon explained. "I guess somewhere along the way, we sort of became friends."

"I guess that means we won't have to worry about you turning us in." Elena said.

"Hey, I'd protect you guys like I'd protect Stefan." He told her. "Good night, Elena." He kissed her on the cheek. He turned to go and was caught off guard when Elena grabbed him and kissed him.

Just then, the door opened. "What's going on?" Jenna asked. Elena looked at her.

"Hi."

"It's late, you should probably come inside." Jenna said. Elena grabbed her dress and headed inside. Damon watched her go inside, stunned at what just happened. He left the house, figuring he'd talk with Elena about it in the morning.

In the kitchen, John was waiting when he found Elena. "You scared me."

"Sorry."

"You know, I fell in love with Isobel when I was your age. I hate vampires because of what she's become." John told her. "But you should know that I wouldn't do anything to you or Jeremy. You're still family."

"Good to know." Elena said.

"How can I help?"

"You'll see." Suddenly, she cut off his fingers and shoved him against the sink. John looked at the girl in horror, realizing this wasn't his daughter.

"Katherine?!"

"Hello, John. Goodbye, John." She stabbed him with the knife.

Meanwhile, the real Elena was outside. "I looked everywhere. Someone took my stuff." She told Stefan over the phone. "I'm checking on Jeremy before I go to the hospital. Can you meet me there?"

"I'll be there." She heard Stefan say at the other end of the line.

"Okay." Elena smiled. "I love you, Stefan." She headed inside, hanging up. She heard something coming from the kitchen and walked toward it immediately.


	35. The Return Part I

Elena walked into the kitchen to find John bleeding on the floor. She sped to his side immediately. "How can I help?" She asked. She knew he didn't trust vampires, so she was being careful. He was barely responsive, so she called the hospital. It wasn't until then she heard him whisper something.

"What?" She asked him.

"Behind you!" He managed. Elena turned around, but didn't see anyone there. She headed into the hallway, picking up a knife just in case. She heard something speed behind her and turned around. Then she heard the front door open and close.

"Jeremy." She sped upstairs and burst into his room. "Jeremy?!" She called, panicking for a moment.

"Elena?" Jeremy got up from his bed. "What's wrong?"

A few minutes later, John was being taken away in an ambulance. Stefan had shown up. "He's fine." Elena told them. They both headed back up to Jeremy's room.

"What's going on? I called my brother, but he was busy with the sheriff."

"Someone else was here a few minutes ago, but they ran out before I could catch them." Elena explained. "It had to have been another vampire."

"And you didn't see them?"

"No, but I heard the door open. I assumed it was Elena." Jeremy explained. He seemed like he had other things on his mind.

"What should we do?"

"Is there anyway to keep a vampire from entering?" Stefan asked.

"Not if they've already been invited in." Jeremy said.

"Are you okay, Jeremy? You seem kind of down." Elena said.

"I'm worried about Anna." Jeremy told her. "Her burns aren't healing. Look at this." He showed them the small burn he still had on his wrist. It looked better, but still hadn't fully healed.

"Well, we should wait until the vervain's out of her system."

"I don't know, they used a lot of vervain. Even Jeremy's still not fully recovered." Elena said. "But I'm sure she'll be okay. She's a lot older than us, so it shouldn't effect her as much."

They headed into the hallway. "You should go make sure John's okay." Stefan said. "I'll wait here with Jeremy."

"You don't have to…"

"Look, you shouldn't be here alone, Jer." Elena said. "It's a good idea, in case they come back."

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Bonnie entered to find Matt and Vicki sitting together. "How's Caroline?" She asked.

"She's not good, Bon." Matt said.

"What happened?"

"We were driving and Tyler heard this noise and then…"

"A noise?" Bonnie asked.

"I was so scared that one of us could've gotten hurt." Vicki said. "And now Caroline…this is just awful."

"He lost control of the car." Matt said. "She was fine one minute, but then she fainted."

At the hospital, Damon walked over to Sheriff Forbes. "Liz, I came as soon as I got the message. Is she okay?"

"She's in surgery, it's ... they're doing everything they can." She explained. "I need your help Damon."

"Sure, anything Liz."

"Mayor Lockwood is dead. They thought he was a vampire. They put him in the basement." Liz told him. "It was a mistake, they said he dropped like the others when John's device when off but he… he couldn't have been a vampire, I've known him my whole life and know Carol Lockwood is gonna want answers and all I can think of right now is Caroline and ..." She started crying.

"Hey, it'll be okay." Damon told her. He held her, worried about his friend and partner.

Downstairs, Elena met with Bonnie. "How's Caroline?"

"She's weak. They don't know if she's going to make it." Bonnie explained.

"What?" Bonnie hugged her friend.

"Is there something that we can do? Like a spell or something?" Elena asked.

"She doesn't know it." She turned around and saw Damon had entered the room. "Do you?"

"No, I don't."

"Even Emily had trouble learning that one." Damon told her.

"There is a way we can save her, but I know you won't like it." Bonnie said. She looked at Elena.

"Oh, no. There's no way." She said.

"What if you only gave her enough to heal her? It'd pass out of her system within a day." Damon said.

"It's too risky, you guys. What if something happens?" Elena asked.

"Elena, it's Caroline." Bonnie pointed out.

"Okay, I'll do it for her." Elena said.

"I'm going to check on Vicki. She's a nervous wreck and the added stress isn't helping Matt." Bonnie told them. She left.

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now but we should talk about what happened tonight." Damon said as Elena started to leave.

"Yeah, one of the tomb vampires got into to house and almost killed John." Elena told him.

"What? When? After I left?" The question stunned her.

"You were there?" Elena asked him.

"Yeah, we were outside together."

"Damon, I never saw you at the house." Elena said. "I'd know if you'd been there."

"I know I saw you, though." Damon said. The two of them looked at each other, confused at what was going on. Just then, Jenna showed up.

"Elena, I came as soon as I get you message. How is John?" Jenna asked.

"Where have you been?" Elena asked her.

"At the fire department, I deferred a report. I told you earlier." Jenna said.

"No, you didn't." Elena said, feeling even more confused.

"Yes, I did."

"No, Jenna, you didn't."

That was when he realized it. "Oh, now I get it."

"Good, can you explain it to us?" Elena asked.

Back at Elena's, Stefan was with Jeremy when they heard the front door open. They headed downstairs. Jeremy stayed in the hallway.

"Hey, how's Caroline?" Stefan asked.

"Not good." Elena told him. She stepped into his arms. He felt something was off with her. She leaned in to kiss him, but he pushed her to the floor.

"What are you doing?" Jeremy said, rushing in

"It's not her, Jer." Stefan told him.

"At least I fooled one of you." Katherine said, getting up. Just then, the door started to open. Katherine threw Stefan to the floor. "Sorry about that, but I gotta run." She disappeared after that.

Elena and Damon walked in just as Jeremy helped Stefan up. "Whoa. What happened?" Elena asked. The guys looked at each other.

"Katherine happened." Damon said. She looked at them.

A few minutes later, the Salvatores were talking in the kitchen while Jeremy told Elena explained what happened a few minutes before she arrived. "Did she say what she wanted?" Damon asked.

"No, of course not. It's Katherine." Stefan pointed out.

"Well, she knows how to make an entrance, that's for sure."

"She said she fooled one of us." Stefan pointed out.

"She pretended to be Elena when I showed up earlier tonight." Damon explained.

"Jeremy told me what happened. Are you okay?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine, but how are you doing with all this?" Stefan asked her.

"I thought with the tomb vampires gone, things would get better." Elena said.

"So did I." Jeremy agreed, entering the room.

"Katherine's been invited in." Elena said. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, she can't get into our place."

"And just leave Jenna to deal with her?" Elena pointed out. "No thank you."

"Well, at least we know she's a vampire now. But if she wanted you dead, she would've tried to kill you already." Damon said. "She always had intense thoughts, like dying young."

"Looks like she already accomplished that, sort of." Jeremy said.

"For now, let's find out what she's up to and try not to provoke her." Stefan said. He turned to Damon. "What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?"

"We were talking, and then she kissed me." He told them.

"You thought that was me?" Elena said, feeling offended and repulsed. Jeremy and Stefan looked at each other.

"I'm glad it wasn't. I could never do that to my brother." Damon said. "Not after last time."

"There needs to be something we can find out." Stefan said.

"Maybe John knows something. I mean, Katherine tried to kill him." Elena pointed out.

"Might want to be careful about that. She loves to play games and it's difficult to find out what she's up to before she wants you to know." Damon said.

"She's right, though." Stefan said. "John could know something through Isobel."

"That's right, with everything going on, I completely forgot about that." Jeremy said. "Your birth mom was in touch with Katherine. Maybe we should pay John a visit."

"We better keep our guard up." Damon said. "You never know when Katherine will decide to make a move."

At the hospital, Bonnie, Matt, and Vicki met in the hallway. "You've been here all night?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, with the Sheriff." Matt said.

"He's still really worried about Caroline." Vicki explained. "I left to call and see how Tyler was doing."

"So, no one else was here?" Bonnie asked.

"I thought I saw Elena on my way out." Vicki said.

"How's Caroline?"

"See for yourself." Matt said. They entered Caroline's room. She was awake and seemed to be feeling better.

"Hey, guys." Bonnie hugged her. She was grateful that Elena had decided to heal her, since she was a little behind on her magic practice lately.

"Careful, still a little sore."

"Sorry."

"They say I'm healing quickly." Caroline said.

"My turn." Matt said. He kissed her.

"I got these to help brighten the room here. You seem to be feeling better, though." Vicki said, setting a bouquet down on the table.

"Yeah, I'm doing really good." Caroline said. She noticed tears in Bonnie's eyes. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm just happy you're okay."

"Oh, I love you guys!"

"We love you, too." Bonnie and Matt hugged her. Vicki smiled at the group.

"Vic, get in here." Matt said.

"Uh, this is more you're thing…"

"Oh, come on." Caroline said. Matt pulled his sister in, anyway.

At the Lockwood house, Damon and the Sheriff were talking with Mrs. Lockwood. "I want to know exactly who's responsible for killing my husband."

"I'm looking into it but you have to be straight. Is there any reason Richard was affected by the vampire device?" Liz asked her.

"Are you implying that he was _one of them_?"

"No, no one's implying anything." Damon told her. He found it strange that a non-vampire had been effected by the device though.

"Your deputies screwed up, plain and simple which makes you responsible." Mrs. Lockwood said.

"Carol..."

"Your husband is the one who helped John Gilbert execute his idiot plan in the first place." Liz pointed out.

"Someone got my husband killed."

"Okay, we're all on edge here." Damon said, trying to keep things from getting even more ugly. "You've suffered a great loss, the whole town has. We've got to stick together, trust each other." He pointed out. "We'll get through this." The group looked at each other.

"How's your daughter?" Carol asked.

"She's doing better. And Tyler?"

"I haven't seen him since I told him about his dad."

Elena and Jeremy went into the hospital. "Ready?" Elena nodded. The went into John's room.

"John?" Elena asked. He looked at them and seemed startled to see Elena. "It's okay, I'm Elena, not Katherine."

"We know she's the one who did this." Jeremy said.

"Why did she attack you?"

"Where is she?" John asked them.

"We don't know." Elena said.

"Neither do I." He winced.

"Easy, Uncle John." Jeremy said, coming to his side.

"Do you know why she's here?" Elena asked. "What she's after?"

"You need to tell us what you know. She can always attack again." Jeremy pointed out.

"I don't know anything." John said. "She never trusted me, she never said anything apart from getting rid of the tomb vampires."

"Well, at least that gives us something to go on." Elena said. She left the room.

"Look, I know you probably still can't stand what we are," Jeremy said. "But not all of us are the bad guys here. Thanks to you, Anna's still hurt and if you ever try to hurt her or Elena or me again, I'll turn you myself." He left the room.

At the Lockwood's, most of the town had shown up already. Damon noticed a guy talking with Carol and went over to Liz. "Who's the guy with Carol?"

"It's the mayor's younger brother, Mason Lockwood." Liz told him.

"Is he on the Council?"

"No. He's not a believer. He wants nothing to do with the council. He's too preoccupied finding the perfect wave." She explained.

"I see."

Tyler went over to the door to greet Elena. "Hey, Elena. thanks for coming, come on in." Katherine entered the house, smiling.


	36. The Return Part II

The Gilberts were leaving the hospital. "We better get back home and get Jenna so we can head to the Lockwood's." Elena said. "You okay, Jer?"

"Yeah, I just told him not to mess with us."

"Did you threaten him?" Elena asked.

"No." Jeremy tried to walk away, but she grabbed his arm.

"Hey, I don't like him either, but he's still family." Elena pointed out. "What's really going on with you, Jeremy? You haven't been yourself lately."

"It's not healing." Elena looked at the burn mark on his hand. It was still there, only slightly faded. Then she realized why he was so concerned.

"Oh, Jeremy." She held him in her arms.

"He called this morning, said she was stable, but seemed to still feel pain."

"Jeremy, I know this is hard for you, but the others need us right now." Elena said gently.

"I know that. And now with your evil twin running around, it's a lot to deal with."

"Hey, we'll get through this." Elena said. "After all, we got through everything else." Jeremy looked at her, nodding in understanding.

Back at the Lockwood's, Bonnie was talking with Damon. "Did you know the Gilbert device affected Tyler Lockwood?" She asked.

"That's news." Damon said. "It affected the mayor, too."

"I wonder why that is." Bonnie said. "I mean, I've known the Lockwoods my whole life. I know they're not vampires."

"Unless they kept it secret like Elena." Damon said. Bonnie glared at him. "Sorry, I'm just saying we can't rule anything out. Speaking of which, how's Caroline doing?"

"She's okay."

"It was a risk your friend took, you know." Damon said.

"Yeah, but we couldn't let Caroline die." Bonnie said. "She was the only one of us that was innocent that night."

"You really feel bad about this, don't you?"

"Even if Care did become one of them, she'd still be Caroline." Bonnie said.

"Where was that attitude when you were getting used to Elena being one?"

"Last I checked, you weren't a big supporter of her at that point, either." Bonnie pointed out. "She told me the only reason you didn't kill her is because you're always working together."

"That may have been true at first," Damon admitted. "But I've never seen her as anything besides someone willing to protect her friends, even if she is a vampire."

"Doesn't make it any less different." Bonnie said, walking out of the room. She found Elena waiting. "Man, I don't see how you can put up with Damon. Accusing me of hating my best friend just cause she's different."

"That is kind of harsh." Elena said.

"At least nothing's changed with us." Bonnie grabbed her hand, then felt something was off with her friend. Yes, she knew Elena was a vampire, but this felt different, as though her powers were alerting her. "I've gotta find Tyler. I'll be right back." She went into another room and called Elena.

"Hello?" She heard Elena say on the other end of the line.

"Elena? Where are you?"

"We're running a little late. I'll be there in five minutes." The connection dropped. Bonnie turned around and saw the Elena clone in the room.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm Katherine."

Bonnie remembered everything the group had told her about Katherine. "I know who you are."

"Of course you do. You're the best friend, right?" Katherine said. "I've been putting all the pieces of Elena's life together. Isobel told me it was a bit of a puzzle. I do know who Jenna and Jeremy are and I met her ex-boyfriend Matt, who was sweet on Caroline, and then there's you, the Bennett witch. Did I do good?" Bonnie started to run for the door, but Katherine stopped her.

Bonnie looked at her, channeling all of her powers into hurting her. The second she fell to the ground, she started to walk away. She didn't see Katherine getting up. "Is that the best you can do?" Bonnie turned around, surprised. Katherine shoved her against the wall.

Bonnie glanced at the door and focused. It opened, revealing them to everyone else around. Katherine released her. "Nice."

"Katherine." Bonnie was relieved to hear Stefan's voice.

"Stefan."

"Leave her alone."

"Okay." She left the room. Stefan looked at Bonnie.

"You okay?" Bonnie nodded, not trusting her voice. "I'll deal with her." He left the room and went after Katherine.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"After the way you treated me last night, I thought that a public place would be less violent." Katherine said.

"You're taking this a little far don't you think? Elena could walk in at any moment."

"But that's part of the fun, Stefan." He looked at her. "Damon's here, somewhere, I've been avoiding him." Before Stefan could say anything, Matt came over to them.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Matt. I heard that Caroline is doing much better. Her recovery was practically miraculous, you must be so relieved."

"I am. Thanks Elena."

"I can't believe she dumped him." Katherine said the second he was out of earshot.

"You need to leave." Stefan said.

"How about we not turn this into a scene?" Katherine pointed out, indicating that the others were still there.

"Okay, so what are you doing here?"

"Maybe I just missed you guys." Katherine said. "Is that a good enough reason for you?"

"If that's the only reason, then why do I have the feeling you're hiding something?" Stefan asked.

"Let's go somewhere more private." They headed outside.

Elena, Jeremy, and Jenna headed inside. "Looks like the whole town has turned out." Jenna said.

"Yeah. Well he is ... he was the mayor." Elena corrected herself.

"Why are they doing this for the funeral?"

"That's what people do. The Lockwood's were here for us when we went through this. It'll be quick; you drop off the food and pay respects and go." Jenna said.

"In and out? It sounds like a plan." Jeremy said. Elena spotted Damon a few feet away.

"You guys go ahead, I'll be right there okay?" She told them. She walked over to him. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"Honestly, I'm a little confused about the whole Katherine thing."

"I can understand that. I didn't believe in vampires at all until I became one." Elena said. "When it happened, I was really confused as to what was going on."

"That's different. You've never fallin' for one."

"Hey, I thought the ones in the books were kinda romantic." Elena joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I just can't believe all this."

"I know you probably don't want to hear this, but she might be messing with you're emotions." Elena said.

"I've thought about that a lot." He started to leave, then turned back to her. "I meant what I said last night, though."

"I know that. You're one of the few people I trust, Damon." Elena said.

"Elena!" Bonnie ran over to her.

"Bonnie, what happened?" She asked.

Jeremy headed into a room and found Tyler. "Sorry, I was looking for…"

"Bathroom is down the hall." He told him.

"Hey, look. I'm sorry about your dad." Jeremy said.

"Today has been a big day as sorry from people who don't really give a crap."

"That's not true, there are some of us who do care." Vicki said. Jeremy hadn't even noticed her until she spoke.

"I remember when my dad died; I had a house full of strangers telling me how a great guy he was." Jeremy said. "Anyway, I know how hard all this is."

"The difference is in your case it was true. My dad was a dick." Tyler pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah he was." Jeremy said.

"That doesn't mean he didn't care." Vicki pointed out. "And while it's not the same, it's hard for me, too, with my mom being gone all the time."

"I found this on his desk." Tyler said, holding up a flask. "He won't mind, he's dead."

"No thanks, I'm staying sober." Vicki said. Jeremy was wondering how strong his compulsion had held when Mason walked in.

"Hey, what's going on here Tyler?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"You don't have somewhere else to be?" Jeremy and Vicki left the room.

"How long have you been here?" Jeremy asked.

"A few hours. Tyler's been holding his emotions back all day and I'm afraid he's going to explode." Vicki said.

"Hey, it'll be okay."

"Anyway, how's your girlfriend doing?" Vicki asked.

"She was caught in a fire. She's still recovering." Jeremy told her.

"I'm sorry, Jer. That day at the Grill…"

"It's okay." Jeremy said. "Look, we can still be friends, but I just don't think we work as a couple anymore."

"I get it. Besides, we've both got to move on." Vicki said. "I'm sure I'll find a guy as nice as you someday."

In the huge backyard, Katherine and Stefan were walking alongside the lake. "Wow, this place is bigger than I remembered. Those actions from the tomb vampires must've been worth it."

"Why did you want them dead?" Stefan asked. "You were friends with some of them."

"There's nothing more annoying than vengeful vampire, Stefan. Just ask John Gilbert." Katherine said.

"Wow, I see vampirism's changed you in more than one way and none of them good."

"And you're still the same old Stefan." She touched his arm, but he pulled away.

"Please, I'm not the one who's been looking for you, Katherine. I have no interest in bringing up what was never there."

"Yeah, right. It does bother me a little you've fallin for someone else." Katherine said.

"I was never in love with you, Katherine." Stefan said. "You ended that the day you left without even saying goodbye."

"Right, did you forget that I never say goodbye to anyone? It's too painful."

"Whatever it is that brought you here, can't you just get on with it and leave town? Cause if you don't, my friends and I will end you personally." Stefan told her.

"One of the reasons I came here was because of you guys."

"Well, I'm done with you, for good, Katherine." Suddenly, he found himself pressed into the grass and had a heel pressed hard against his back.

"Then consider me jealous of your girlfriend." She heard voices coming outside, so she left.

A few minutes later, Elena was sitting on a bench with him. She was checking to see how bad he was hurt. "Are you okay?" She asked. She could see the heel's imprint on his back, but nothing too serious.

"Yeah, I was trying to figure her out. Guess I let her get to me." Damon rushed over to them.

"Well, Jer's trying to track her, but it looks like she took off."

"Man, you two have a crazy vampire ex on the loose and you guys are just standing around?" Bonnie pointed out. She'd gone outside with them, not wanting to be alone after her close call with Katherine.

"Better be careful." Damon said. "We're all going to have to keep our guard up." They all nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to check in on Jenna." Elena said. "Let Jeremy know."

"We will."

"I'll go find him." Bonnie said.

"So, what now?"

"Look, Katherine's going to try and play us against each other." Stefan said.

"I know, but we're not going to let her do that again." Damon told him.

"Damon, I know you still care about her." Stefan said, getting up. "She's going to use that against you."

"Haven't you learned by now, brother? I'm good at keeping my feelings hidden."

Jeremy showed up and found John packing. "Leaving already?"

"Didn't exactly have much choice." John pointed out. "You know, I was taught to hate your kind."

"Dad wouldn't have seen things that way." Jeremy said. "Even if he were still here, he'd still see me as his son."

"Well, you kids might be changing my perspective."

"That ring belonged to him, right?" Jeremy asked.

"I see you've done your research." John took it off and gave it to him.

"It won't work on me now that I'm a vampire." Jeremy pointed out.

"It'll work on any of your human friends, though."

At the Boarding House, Damon and Jeremy were headed toward the door. "We moved her to the living room."

"Thanks for this."

"Well, Elena knew how worried you were. Besides, she kept asking how you were." Damon saw a shadow move. "Go on in. I'll be right there."

"Careful out there." Jeremy said before heading into the house.

Damon investigated the exterior of the house, then he saw something move in the bushes. "You're not very subtle, you know." Katherine emerged from her hiding place.

"Well, I had to hide somewhere. I forgot I couldn't get in."

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Damon asked.

"I'm going. I know I'm not wanted here." Damon had no idea whether to stake her or to comfort her, so he just stood there. "Wow. You're quieter than I remember."

"You have a way of stunning people into silence."

"Well, I did used to be popular around here." Katherine pointed out.

"I heard you've been messing with her friends." Damon said. "What are you up to?"

"If I'm up to something, you'll know it." Katherine said. She looked at him and for a moment, Damon saw the old Katherine, but he still knew better. "So, are you going to kick me out?"

"You can't even get in. You said so yourself."

"You haven't changed, Damon."

"You have." Katherine seemed kind of sad then. The next thing he knew, she was kissing him. Again.

Suddenly, she pulled away. "I shouldn't have done that." She said, more to herself than to him.

"Do you have any idea how I felt when I thought you were captured? I need to know, did you ever even care?"

She looked at him, clearly upset about something. "Of course I care, I still do, but…I'm sorry, Damon. It's just not the right time, not now anyway. I never should've come here." Before he could respond, she sped off into the night.

Meanwhile, inside the Boarding House, Jeremy saw Anna lying on the couch. "Is that comfortable?"

"Jeremy." She turned onto her side. "Hey."

"I heard they've been trying to help." Jeremy said. "How is it?"

"Still really sore and I might have some blisters, but I'm okay." Anna said.

"I wish you could heal normally. We could really use your help again."

"I should recover in a couple days. Maybe." Anna told him.

"Can I see it?" Jeremy asked. Anna carefully exposed her back to him. The burn begun to fade, but it was all across her back. "Anna…"

"I know it looks back. And I also know my chance of recovering from it is fifty-fifty." Anna said.

"You don't mean that." Jeremy said.

"Jeremy…"

"No, I can't lose you now. You need to recover from this."

"Jeremy, you only suffered a small injury. But the vervain's still in my system. Even if it went away and I could heal by tomorrow, there's no guarantee the injury will fully heal." Anna said.

"We'll figure something out." Jeremy said. "Have you tried…"

"I'm good. The bags you two supplied earlier are still in stock." Anna said. "Don't worry so much over this. I think I have a good chance of recovering. I love you, Jeremy."

"How's it going in here?"

"He's in shock, but he's doing okay." Anna said.

"Why didn't you tell me there was a chance of her not making it?" Jeremy asked him, not bothering to turn around.

"I didn't want to worry you even more. You've been worried about Anna all day and now we have a possible new enemy in town. It's hard to fight when you've got a lot of baggage here…" He pointed to his head, "And here." He put a hand over his heart.

"Jeremy, it might not happen. I could still make it." Anna said. Jeremy looked at her, her eyes were full of hope and happiness.

"Okay." Jeremy said. He bent down to kiss Anna. It was a small kiss, but it gave both of them enough hope for the moment. "I'll talk with you tomorrow." Jeremy said, turning to Damon. He shoved something into his hand on the way out.

Damon looked and it and was surprised to see John's ring.

At home, Elena was talking with Stefan. "I'm sure he's fine."

"He should've been back by now." Elena said.

"Maybe he just lost track of time. Look, I know you're worried about the whole Katherine thing."

"I'm worried that she might get him on her side." Elena admitted. Stefan knew she was referring to his brother. "I think she might use his feelings for her against him and us."

"If it's one thing I know, no matter how he feels, he would never put the safety of the town above anyone, even if we don't agree with it." Jeremy entered the room then.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Anna's looking a little better, but it's still not good news."

"At least you made it back in one piece."

"Easy, Elena." Jeremy said. She was relieved that everyone was okay for now, but who knew what Katherine was planning next?


	37. The New Vampire

Elena was busy telling everyone where to place things. "No, the karaoke booth goes outside." She told a group of freshman. Since Caroline was still in the hospital for observation, she had been put in charge of setting up the school carnival. Luckily, she had Bonnie helping her.

However, the witch had other things on her mind. "Katherine looked just like you, it was freakish." Bonnie said. "It's like she could've been you're twin."

"Yeah, my evil vampire twin." Elena said. "I compared an old photo of her with one of mine, I was shocked. It's pretty creepy, I know." She paused. "Move the student booth into the cafeteria." She told a group.

"Yeah, but it was still freaky."

"I can't explain it." Elena said. "I don't know how we look alike."

"How do you know she's not still out there pretending to be you?"

"I don't know." Elena told her, getting frustrated. "But I could sit here and be tortured by the not-knowing or I could get these prizes to the ring toss."

"Have you talked to the guys about any of this?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm afraid to talk with Damon about it." Elena told her. "Given that they've had history, and Jer's completely distracted Anna's injury. Besides, Caroline would want us to focus on this." She added.

"You're right." Bonnie said. "We need to do this the way she would. I don't see how she does all this?"

"Well, she is head of the student council." Elena pointed out.

"True." Elena handed her a bag. She nearly dropped it. "Um, Elena?"

"Sorry, I forgot." Elena took the heavy bag and gave her a different one. "I guess I'm a little stressed about this whole thing."

In the hallway, Jeremy was handing Stefan something. "With Katherine around, you two are going to need these." Stefan recognized the rings immediately.

"The lie detector rings."

"We've given one to Bonnie already." Jeremy said. "You guys still have your bracelets, right?"

"We never take them off, since we always seem to be dealing with vampires."

"Yeah, I figured." Jeremy said. Stefan noticed something was off.

"Hey, Anna's okay. I checked on her this morning before I came here."

"Yeah, but her burn's spread all the way across her back and she still isn't healing."

"I know you want to be there for her. I felt the same way when I tried to protect Lexi from a vampire attack."

"What happened?"

"She sprained her ankle trying to escape. If my brother hadn't shown up when he did…The point is, she's still alive."

"For now." Jeremy said. "Look, I know I should probably not think about it, but I'm worried about her."

"Maybe you should come to the fair with us tonight." Stefan told him. "It might get your mind off things." Just then, Elena walked over to them. "Hi."

"Hey, did you…" Elena began to ask.

"Yeah, I set up the fish toss all through a hundred golden fish." Jeremy told her. "It's gonna be epic!" He left.

"He'll be fine, he's just upset about the whole Anna thing."

"I know. I was hoping this would be a good distraction for him." Elena said. "But he can't help who he has feelings for."

"Well, I think he'll still come." Stefan said.

"That's good news." Elena said. "After the last couple days, we could all use a night of normal for a change. I still can't believe Care hired a stupid Ferris wheel."

"I thought girls loved those."

"Not if they're afraid of heights." Elena shot back. He seemed surprised. "Yeah, becoming a vampire's helped me deal with it a little, but I still get really nervous."

"Would you feel better if I went up with you?" Stefan asked.

"Maybe."

"So, what should we do about Damon?"

"I have no idea." Elena told him. "I'm trying not to think about it too much."

"Yeah, I know." Stefan said. "I'll talk to him. Katherine's return has us all on guard."

Damon was applying some kind of cream to Anna's back when Stefan walked in. "Does it still hurt?"

"Ow! Yes!"

"Sorry." He moved his hand back. The burn was starting to look better, but it had barely faded.

"I hope this thing heals soon."

"Yeah, so does Jeremy." Stefan said, entering the room.

"That kid's really concerned about all this." Damon said. "Anyway, I have a lot to deal with, too."

"Have you heard from Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"Not since last night's ambush outside." Damon told him. "But I think something's up with the Lockwood family. According to Bonnie, the Gilbert device effected them, but vervain didn't."

"You think there's another supernatural entity in town?" Stefan asked.

"It's possible, though it's good to know you're not a skeptic anymore."

"I lost the skepticism when I found out my girlfriend was a vampire." Stefan pointed out. "And we still don't know what Katherine's up to, either."

"That's true, but until we find that out, don't you think we should try and figure out what the Lockwoods are? Find out if they're a threat or not?"

"What do you want me to do?" Stefan asked, wondering for the hundredth time how he kept getting mixed into his brother's plans.

That night, the fair seemed to be going well. Bonnie ran over to Elena. "The ring toss is out of Bart and Homer dolls and team Jacob T's."

"Okay, I'll be right back." Elena said. "Oh, and we lost a speaker in the karaoke booth."

"Hey, so far, this is a success." Bonnie said. "Man, I hope I didn't just jinx it."

"Bonnie, there's worse things than that." Elena pointed out. She walked over to one of the mechanics. "Excuse me, can you please help my friend over there with the karaoke speakers?" She didn't like using compulsion, but she figured it'd be for a good cause.

"No problem." He walked over to Bonnie. Elena watched them leave together, then ran off to get the prizes for the booth.

In the school, Jeremy was walking around when Damon showed up. "Jeremy, I've been looking for you."

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"There's something you should know."

"Look, if you're going to tell me to move on again, forget it." Jeremy said. "Everyone else has already tried."

"No, it's about Anna. I think she's going to make it." They went into the hallway.

"You better not be lying to me, man."

"I'm not. As I was leaving, I saw her healing. It's going pretty slowly, but it's healing." Damon told him. He could tell Jeremy didn't believe him. "You can stop by when you're done here."

A few hours later, the guys were at the arm wrestling booth. "Let me guess, you're investigating." Jeremy said. The guys looked at him, surprised to see him there.

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard about Damon's theory and I agree with him. I don't want to worry Elena yet, though. She's still trying to run the ring toss." Jeremy told them.

"Well, all we know so far is that device affected him." Stefan said.

"Who'd like to go next?" Jeremy was surprised when the guys pushed him forward.

"I guess I will."

"Jer, I didn't know you were into arm wrestling."

"I didn't know you were, either." He told Vicki.

"I'm not. I came because it was either this or stick with my worried brother." Vicki explained. "That, and this was the only available tent I could volunteer at. Good luck."

"You sure about this?" Tyler asked him as he sat down.

"Yeah." He said, knowing the Salvatores were watching.

"Whoa, you're strong." Tyler commented.

"I left weights." Jeremy lied. He put all his effort in, but in the end, Tyler beat him.

"Guess you need a little more practice."

"Good game." Jeremy said. He left the tent, fully aware the others were behind him.

"Were you even trying?" Damon asked.

"Yes, I was." Jeremy said.

"So, do you know what he is?"

"Well, he's not a vampire." Jeremy said. "But it was definitely stronger than human."

"So if they're not vampires, then what are they?" Stefan asked.

"I have no idea." Jeremy said. "But I've known the Lockwoods my whole life."

"Maybe Ric knows something." Stefan suggested. "He knows a little more about the supernatural than we do."

"I'll try to reach him in the morning." Damon told them.

He had gone into the hallway, when Caroline showed up. "Hey, you're out early."

"I'm remembering things." Caroline said.

"Like what?"

"I remember how you tried to save me from that jerk at the Founder's party and how I really ended up with the necklace."

"How can you remember that?" Damon asked.

"I don't know." Caroline said. "But Katherine gave me a message." He looked at her. "She said, "Game on"."

"Wait a minute, you saw…" Then it clicked, her memories returning, having Elena's blood in her system, Katherine's visit.

"See you around." She left the room. Damon texted the others immediately, then remembered Elena didn't bring her phone because she was busy working.

Elena was talking to one of her friends, when she noticed Damon. "Excuse me." She told her. She went over to him. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, you need to come inside. There's something all of you have to know." Elena went back to the girl.

"Look, I have to go. Why don't you find Bonnie? Maybe she can help."

"Thank you."

Elena followed Damon into the classroom, where Jeremy and Stefan were already waiting.

"I was afraid this would happen!" Elena said after Damon finished explaining.

"Why would Katherine turn her?" Jeremy asked.

"I have no idea, but if she's doing it to mess with us, she's sure picked a fine way to do it."

"She said game on." Stefan said. "What does that even mean?"

"Sounds like Katherine's playing dirty." Jeremy said. "I mean, she turned one of our friends."

"Still, why Caroline?" Elena asked.

"Probably to get to us." Damon said. "And I'd say she's succeeded."

"Caroline must be panicking." Stefan said. "She don't even know what's happening to her."

"I think she does. She remembers everything from the Founder's Ball attack." Damon said. Elena looked at him, concerned.

"We've got to find her." Jeremy said.

"Yeah, and kill her." Everyone looked at Damon with horror.

"We can't kill Caroline!" Elena said.

"That's going too far, even for you." Stefan pointed out.

"I'm just trying to be practical. She won't as easily as you guys." Damon pointed out. "And her mother's a vampire hunter."

"Look, we can't kill her." Stefan said, firmly.

"Guys, we don't have time for this." Elena said. "Let's just find Caroline before anything happens."

"We'll cover more ground if we split up." Jeremy pointed out.

Minutes later, the group had split up. Jeremy was looking behind the booths, while Damon searched the parking lot. Elena and Stefan were checking out the fair ground.

"You agree with him on some level, don't you?" Stefan asked her as she looked for any sign of her blonde friend.

"He's right about what could happen." Elena admitted. "My doppelganger just signed her death sentence."

"Hey, nothing is going to happen to her as long as you're still her friend." Stefan pointed out. Elena smiled, then noticed something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"I smell blood." Elena told him. "That can't be good. Come on!"

Jeremy was hiding in the shadows of the tent. He saw Caroline sitting next to someone. It didn't take long for him to figure out what happened. Then he noticed Damon approach her. "He's dead, I killed him. What's wrong with me?"

"You didn't mean to, did you?"

"Of course I didn't mean to!" Caroline exploded at him.

"Okay, okay. Sorry."

"You need to stay away from me. What if I accidentally kill you next?" Caroline asked.

"You won't." Damon told her. As he got closer, Jeremy saw him holding a stake behind him.

"Please, just go. I'm a monster now."

"You're upset about this. That doesn't make you a monster." Suddenly, Jeremy sped in between them, just as Elena and Stefan arrived on the scene.

"He's right, Caroline. A monster has no feelings of regret." Jeremy said, knocking the stake out of his hand. "Unlike some people."

Elena put her hand on Caroline's shoulder. "Get away from me!" She yelled, nearly hysterical. "You killed me!"

"No, Caroline, I'm not Katherine. I'm Elena."

"Then why did she look like you? Why did she do this to me?" Caroline asked. "And how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Here," Stefan handed her his lie detector ring. "It'll vibrate if she lies."

"Caroline, I promise I would never do anything to hurt you, much less turn you." Elena said. "We've been friends since the second grade and you have a star-shaped birthmark on your…"

"It really is you." Caroline realized.

"Jeremy, let's get her out of here." Elena said.

"She'll die, it's only a matter of time."

"Not tonight it's not." Stefan said.

The next thing Elena knew, she was standing between Caroline and Damon, with a stake inches from her chest. "She's my friend, too." Elena reminded him. Damon hestitated, then dropped the stake.

"Fine, I'll let you deal with this one." Just then, Bonnie showed up.

"Caroline?"

"Bonnie…she got to her." Elena told her. It was then she noticed there was blood on Caroline's mouth.

"Oh, no. She did not do this." She reached out and touched her arm and gasped.

"Bonnie?"

"Jeremy, can you…"

"I'm on it." Jeremy said. "Come on." He led Caroline away from the group, while Elena decided to explain things to Bonnie.

"Here, I always keep a spare one in case." Elena said, handing her boyfriend another lie detector ring.

"Katherine did this, didn't she?" Bonnie asked. They all nodded. "Okay, you're going to have to explain this cause I think I'm going to faint."

In the bathroom, Jeremy helped Caroline clean the blood off. "Bonnie's really upset, isn't she?"

"Hey, we're all in shock here." Jeremy pointed out.

"What am I going to do about Matt?" Caroline asked. "I could kill him, too."

"Calm down and listen to me." Jeremy told her. "Nothing is going to happen to him. He's on vervain."

"No wonder my friendship bracelet burned me." Caroline said. "But I'm still a monster."

"Hey, you're emotions have been heightened." Jeremy said. "It's normal for new vampires, especially in the beginning."

"So, how long have you guys…" She caught her reflection over Jeremy's shoulder and screamed.

"Caroline, look at me." She turned back to Jeremy, hesitantly, then gasped when she saw that his eyes had changed, too. "It happens sometimes. Just calm down and take a few breaths. It always works for us." While he spoke to her, he changed back to normal. Caroline took a few breaths and was surprised she looked like herself again.

"Why did Katherine do this to me?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know. But I promise that Elena and I won't let anything happen to you." Jeremy said.

"I guess now I know why you were both so secretive before."

Outside, Bonnie was still in shock. "I can't believe this happened."

"Same here." Elena said. "I was afraid she might turn if I gave her my blood."

"Well, it's better than her being dead, right?" Stefan pointed out.

"Still, I never would've wanted her to become like you guys." Bonnie said.

"Are you saying that you regret making me heal her?" Elena asked.

"Whoa, guys…"

"No, it's just… she was the only normal friend I had." Bonnie explained. Elena looked at her. She knew how it felt. Without Bonnie's friendship, she had no idea how she would've made it this far.

"I get it, Bonnie. But for a while, you were my only friend, period. It was hard and I don't know if I would've made it if your friendship hadn't kept me going."

"So, what should we do about this?"

"For now, all we can do is try to help her." Elena said. "Knowing Caroline, it won't be easy."

Jeremy met Elena at her locker. Stefan showed up at the same time. "Caroline's okay." Jeremy told them. "I sent her home."

"What about the guy she…" Elena began.

"Damon's taking care of it." Stefan told her.

"He's right, isn't he?" Elena asked. "About it ending for her."

"Not as long as she has us helping her." Jeremy pointed out.

"I just can't believe what happened here today."

"Yeah, it's hard to deal with just being normal sometimes." Stefan told her.

"Please, nothing about our lives is normal." Elena said. "My best friend's a witch, we've been vampires for almost a year now, and I have a vampire doppelganger that's out to get us for some reason."

"Not to mention the free time we spend fighting other vampires." Jeremy pointed out.

"Sorry about…"

"Hey, it's not your fault, Elena. None of it is." Stefan pointed out.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Elena said. She walked away.

"Bye, Elena."

"I think I know a way you can cheer her up." Jeremy said. "I found this in front of her locker earlier." He handed him a folded piece of paper. He looked at it.

"How do…" When he looked up, Jeremy was gone. "Vampires."

At the Boarding House, Damon was packing the first aid kit when he heard someone. "Jeremy, I know it's you. What are you doing here?"

"I had to see if what you said earlier was true." Jeremy said. "I can't stand the whole fifty-fifty chance, you know?"

"Well, they injected her with a lot of vervain. I think it blocked or at least slowed down her healing ability."

"I figured."

"Jeremy?" He turned to the couch. Anna had been sleeping most of the day.

"Anna, it's me." He went over to her side. She opened her eyes.

"You are here. I thought I imagined your voice."

"How's your back?"

"See for yourself. Careful, though. It's still sore." Anna told him. She lifted the back of her shirt carefully, enough to keep her front covered. Jeremy looked surprised. Slowly, her skin seemed to be healing.

"It's starting to heal."

"I know. I should be back to normal in a few days."

"I'm sorry about this whole mess." Jeremy said. "My father hated vampires and so does John. Now some of them can be real jerks, but at least they stood up for something."

"So did you, Jer." Anna said. "You stood up for me and your friends." She closed her eyes.

"Anna?"

"She's just asleep. It helps her heal faster." Damon told him. They headed into the hallway. "I don't know if I told you this, but my father hated them too. He was also a hunter."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was similar to John, though he more reminded me of how I was before meeting you two."

"Guess it makes sense, our parents were all on the Founder's Council." Jeremy pointed out. "Sometimes I wonder what my father would think if he knew about us now."

"I think he'd be lucky to have a couple of kids like you guys." Damon told him. Jeremy looked at him.

"Are you sure about this?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah." Elena said. The two of them were back at the fair grounds, however, everyone had apparently left, so it was empty. "I know there's a lot going on with Katherine being here and turning Caroline. Not to mention the mess with the Lockwoods, but I still have a life here. It's time I got over my fear so that we can protect this town."

"You're right. Even with the supernatural around us, we shouldn't forget to live." Stefan added.

"Exactly." Elena said.

"Wait, how are we getting to the top?" Stefan asked.

"You might want to hold on." Elena said. They put their arms around each other, then she jumped up to the top of the Ferris wheel.

"Wow, that was amazing." Stefan told her.

"You'd be surprised how long it took to learn to jump." Elena told him. She laughed.

"Have I mentioned how much I'm in love with you?" Stefan told her. Elena leaned over and kissed him.

"Things aren't going to be easy, but as long as we're together, I know we'll make it." She said.

"I know we will."


	38. Transition Issues

The group met at the Boarding House. Alaric entered the room just then. "Thanks for coming, Rick." Stefan told their teacher/vampire hunter.

"Can I get you anything?"

"I think I'm good, thanks." Alaric told him. "Elena said you guys needed help."

"Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family." Damon told him.

"Why would I know anything about the Lockwood's?" Alaric asked them.

"You might not know, but you're vampire wife might." Jeremy said.

"You told us that Isobel researched this town and the supernatural." Elena explained.

"Her research about Mystic Falls mostly came from legends that I thought were fiction at the time." Alaric said. "Obviously I was wrong about the vampire thing."

"What else?"

"There was something about the lycanthrope."

"Wait, werewolves?" Jeremy asked.

"Okay, that's impossible." Stefan said.

"Is it really?" Elena asked. "You thought this vampire thing wasn't possible, either." The group turned to Damon.

"Don't look at me, I don't know anything about werewolves." He told them. "My focus was to keep this town safe from vampires."

"Why do you guys suspect the Lockwoods?" Alaric asked the group.

"The Gilbert device effected Tyler and Mayor Lockwood." Jeremy told him.

"And when they vervained the Mayor, it had no effect."

"At the carnival, Mason seemed to display some kind of strength that wasn't human." Elena added. "It all means they're some type of supernatural being."

"We're hoping Isobel's research could help us figure this out." Stefan told him.

"All of her things are still at Duke." Alaric said. "Her office is still there, since she's technically still missing."

"Can we get access to it?" Damon asked. "Look, we don't know what we're dealing with and if they're a threat to the town…"

"Look, we just need to figure this out. Because if this wolf thing is true, we could all be in trouble." Elena said.

A few hours later, Jeremy was packing for the trip. "Are you sure you want to go?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. Damon and I don't exactly get along well, but since Ric's with us, I think we'll manage." Jeremy said.

"Maybe we could wait a few days until we've got Caroline adjusted to this new lifestyle." Elena told him.

"I would stay here, but after the last week of events here, I think it'd be better if I went with them, make sure nothing's out to get us." Jeremy told her.

"I still have so many questions on how the heck Katherine and I are related, or if we're related at all." Elena said.

"Hey, I'm sure someone will know something." Jeremy told her. "I'll stay in touch the whole trip."

"Thanks, Jer."

A few minutes after they left, Stefan and Elena met Bonnie at the Grill. "You want me to what?"

"According to Elena, you're grandmother made these daylight rings." Elena held out her hand so Bonnie could look at it.

"We think the instructions are in Emily's spellbook, since Stefan told me Katherine had a pendant, too." Elena continued.

"That doesn't mean I can use the spell." Bonnie pointed out.

"You know how to fight vampires, I think you can figure out a simple jewelry spell." Stefan pointed out.

"I have some extra daylight charms that she gave me in case we needed to make a few extra ones." Elena added.

"How do we know Caroline won't accidentally hurt someone?" Bonnie asked.

"Because I'm going to help her." Elena said. "I'll make sure she doesn't." Bonnie still seemed hesitant. "If you can't trust her, then trust me."

Meanwhile, the guys were on the way to Duke. "You're more quiet than usual back there. You okay?"

"He's been like that for the past few days." Alaric said.

"Hey, at least she's not dead." Damon said, remembering how fast Anna recovered.

"To me, she may as well be." Jeremy said glumly.

"What happened to you, man?" Damon asked. Jeremy didn't say anything.

Meanwhile, the others were at Caroline's house. Caroline was holding a ring that Elena had given her. "Wow, it's beautiful."

"It's more than that, without it, you won't be able to walk in the sun like me." Elena told her. "But I thought you'd like this one."

"So now what?" Caroline asked.

"Now I do the spell and you'll be able to blend in like the others." Bonnie said. Caroline set the ring down. Bonnie glanced at her grimore and opened the curtain a little. A few seconds later, she handed it back to Caroline. "It's done." Caroline put the ring on.

"So, that's it?"

"I'm sure she knows what she's doing, Care." Elena said.

"I don't know if it worked." Bonnie opened the curtain. To Caroline's surprise, she wasn't burning.

"It worked." Bonnie said. "I'll see you later. Elena will take over from here." She left the room.

Meanwhile, the guys arrived at Duke and entered the office. "Excuse me, hi. I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier."

"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant compare to folklore." The woman up front told them. "I'll just get Isobel's keys."

"These are my friends, Damon and Jeremy." Alaric told her. "I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."

"Isobel's office is this way. She was one of my first professors." Vanessa told him as she led them down the hall. "I'm a grad student. Has there been any news?"

"No, afraid not." Alaric told her, covering for the guys. Vanessa opened the door.

"Feel free to look around. I'm going to find out where the lights are." Jeremy and Damon looked at the shelves, full of books and boxes of materials.

"Hey, where'd she go?" Jeremy asked after a few minutes. Suddenly, the lights flickered on.

"Found them." They heard her say from the back of the room.

"It's a lot bigger than I thought." Damon said, noticing how much bigger the room was.

"She was a researcher." Alaric said.

"So, what is it you're looking for, exactly?" Vanessa asked them.

"We need research on anything dealing with the supernatural and Mystic Falls." Jeremy told her. "And Katherine Pierce." He added.

"No problem, I think I know where everything is."

In the woods, Elena was with Caroline. "So what I do when I see the rabbit?"

"Chase it, catch it, feed on it."

"Isn't killing cute defenseless animals the first step of becoming a serial killer?" Caroline asked.

"We're vampires, we don't want to hurt people." Elena said. "Granted, most of us drink from blood bags, but knowing how to hunt animals is an important survival skill. But if you can't handle that…"

"I can handle it." Caroline said. "But I've spent the last few days locked in my house. Everyone else is at the swimming hole, and I'm blowing Matt off after he told me how he felt. And now I'm a vampire and everything's…"

"Caroline," Elena said, cutting her off. "You're freaking out."

"No kidding."

"When you become a vampire, you're emotions are heightened. You remember how I was before the car crash." Elena said. "I'm still the same, but…"

"Is that why you avoided us?" Caroline asked. "Was it because you had just turned?"

"Happened about a month after adjusting to life without them." Elena told her. "It wasn't until meeting Stefan I realized how much I needed my friends. Anyway, I'll help you out here. We'll go to the swimming hole after this."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think you being around Matt will help." Elena said.

"Thanks, Elena."

"Well, this is all I got about Katherine's disappearance." Vanessa told the group, bringing a large box over to them.

"Is this really everything about her?" Jeremy asked.

"Everything I could find." Vanessa said. "From the dates of her disappearance, pretty much everything you'd need to find out."

"That's a lot of stuff for a girl who went missing in 07." Jeremy said.

"Well, it was Katherine." Damon pointed out.

"Have you found anything yet?" Jeremy asked.

"No, but I'll be in the other room looking. Someone must've kept a record of her, a journal or something."

At the swimming hole, Elena and Caroline showed up as Mason drove past them. Elena had the feeling something was up. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just got a feeling about something." Elena said.

"I can tell. You're not exactly transparent when it comes to your feelings." Caroline said.

"So, you know when I've been lying?" Elena asked.

"I've let it slide since I know the truth now." Caroline told her.

It didn't take Elena long to find Stefan. He was sitting by the edge of the water. "Hey, how are things going?"

"They're taking some adjusting, but it seems to be going well." Elena said.

"Well, at least that's good news."

"Yeah, and I think there's something up with Mason. He drove by the second we arrived, and I was getting a weird vibe from him." Elena told him.

"As in he might be…" Stefan began.

"I don't know." She admitted. "But I'm hoping Jer finds something."

"Yeah, he better hurry." Stefan said. "I keep thinking that something's going to happen."

"Yeah, I have that feeling too." They smiled, then Elena noticed Caroline talking with a girl. She immediately realized what she was doing. "Oh, that's not good. Come on."

By the time they got to Caroline, Matt and the girl had left, obviously in different directions. "Hey, I saw that. You compelled her." Elena said.

"She deserved it."

"Caroline, you can't just compel people you don't like." Elena said. "Trust me, I know. I had to stop Jeremy from compelling Damon." Stefan looked at her. "I'm sorry, he just doesn't trust him."

"I get it, I barely trust my brother sometimes."

"Jealousy isn't a good reason to compel someone, though." Elena said.

"What was I supposed to do, watch her flirt with him?" Caroline asked.

"Hey, we promised we'd help you get through this, but this isn't going to be easy."

"I know, I've just been having trouble with the whole thing." Caroline said.

"You mastered a cheerleading routine in two days." Elena pointed out. "I'm sure you'll make it through this." Caroline looked at her, she still seemed unsure, but Elena saw she was determined, just like the old Caroline again.


	39. The Werewolf Legend

At Duke, everyone was still going through the information. "Any luck?" Damon asked.

"Nothing in here about Katherine that you haven't told us." Jeremy told him.

"Well, it's not like she kept her life out there for the public to see."

"You're the one who dated her." Jeremy pointed out. "Is there anything you know that can help us?"

"Hey, guys! Check this out." Alaric called. They went over to where he and Vanessa were talking.

"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls but here are some records of some the lesser known legends." Vanessa told them. "Everything from Scandinavian skin walkers to Aztecs legends." She opened the book to a page with symbols drawn on it. "It translates into the "curse of the sun and the moon"."

"It's Native American."

"Aztecs." Vanessa corrected. "It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story: 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon." The guys looked at her and she continued.

"As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon is crossing the sky, who's ever unlucky enough to fall into the werewolves curse turns into a wolf."

"Can they control it at all?" Damon asked.

"If it were a choice, they wouldn't call it a curse." Vanessa said.

"Even I know that." Jeremy said.

"Werewolves will attack humans," Vanessa explained. "but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardware them to hunt their prey's choice: vampires."

"If werewolves were hunting vampires, why haven't we heard about it?" Alaric asked.

"Hundreds of years ago, vampires almost hunted them to extinction." Vanessa told him.

"Why would they do that?" Jeremy asked.

"To protect themselves. According to the legend, a werewolf bite is fatal to the vampires." Vanessa said. Jeremy and Damon looked at each other.

Back at the swimming hole, everyone was starting to leave. It had gotten dark out. "He's mad at me." Caroline said.

"Go talk to him." Elena said. "We'll be right here if you need us." Caroline walked over to Matt, when her phone started ringing. "Hi."

"Hey, I think we found something here that's not going to sound good."

"Just tell us." Stefan noticed Caroline and Matt walk away.

"You better be careful. It's a full moon tonight." Jeremy was saying.

"I will be." Elena said.

"Yeah, you'd better. The legend says a werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire." She looked around. "Hey, where'd Caroline go?"

"She and Matt went into the woods." Stefan told her. "What's going on?"

"Jer, I'll call you when I get home." Elena said. She hung up. "Stefan, you need to leave. I'm going to get Caroline out of here."

"Elena…"

"Stefan, they found out a wolf bite's fatal to our kind." She said. "I'm not going to let my friend get killed because of me. I'm going to find her, you just get out of here."

He headed for the car, to her relief. Then she took off into the woods.

Back at Duke, the others were still looking around. "Have you done any research on doppelgangers?" Jeremy asked.

"The word means many different things, but basically it's like a double of someone." Vanessa said.

"True, but that doesn't explain why they look alike." Damon said. Vanessa turned to him.

"We think that my sister is somehow connected to Katherine." Jeremy explained.

"Well, I don't know how they'd be related. All I know about doppelgangers is that they usually torment the people the look like, trying to undo their lives."

"In other words, nothing we haven't been able to find on Google." Jeremy said.

"All I know is that there's a missing link here."

"Are you sure you don't know anything that can help her?" Jeremy asked. Then he started to leave. "Never mind, I forgot who I was talking to." He left the room.

At the car, he had trouble getting the door. "It's locked, you know." He turned around.

"No kidding."

"Just thought you might want to give this to your sister." He handed him a book. There was a name on the side.

"Petrova?"

"Katherine's family was from Europe. It's her real name." He explained. "Or maybe her ancestor's."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw the name engraved on the back of a locket she used to wear." Damon told him. "This book should have some clue on how their related, if not, her family history."

"You know I still can't stand you." Jeremy said. "But I appreciate the help."

In the woods, Elena was running. She'd tried calling her cell phone, but she wasn't answering. She was listening closely, when she heard what sounded like a growl. "Did you hear that?" She heard Matt ask. She sped over to where he and Caroline were.

"Caroline, we really need to get out of here." She told her.

"What's going on?" Matt asked.

"You know all those animal attacks?" Elena asked, trying to warn Care and not blow their secret at the same time. "Well, if we don't get moving, we're going to be their next target!" She told them.

"Wait, we can't just leave him." Caroline said.

"Stefan has the car, he can help him." Elena said. "Right now, we need to run!" Suddenly, they heard the sound of something moving. "Matt, if you take the south trail, you'll find him there. Go, now." He took off.

"Okay, we're going the opposite direction. Run as fast as you can." Elena told Caroline. "It'll get it off Matt's trail." Caroline nodded, understanding. "Okay, run, now!" They both took off but stopped near the ruins.

"Wait, what's after us?" Caroline asked.

"A werewolf." Elena said. "It has the ability to kill us and it will try if it gets close enough." Caroline looked at her, horrified.

"Hey, what are you girls still doing here?" Tyler asked.

"What are you doing here?" Elena countered. "I thought you left."

"I saw something in the woods," He began. Just then, a wolf rushed out and jumped onto Caroline. Elena pushed it off of her. Caroline was still on the ground and Elena wasn't sure she could take a wolf in a fight.

"Stop!" Everyone turned to look at Tyler, including the wolf. Then, it ran back off into the woods.

"Are you really okay?" Caroline asked. Elena had returned her phone and she was checking in on Matt.

"Yeah, Stefan picked me up right where Elena said he'd be."

"Thank goodness."

"Are you okay, Care?"

"Yeah, I was almost attacked, but Elena saved me." Caroline said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Okay, I'll meet you later." Elena hung up. The girls sat together.

"You think Tyler saw that?"

"As far as I'm concerned, he probably thought it was just a normal wolf." Elena said. "We're likely in the clear."

"I can't believe this."

"You're just going to have to work harder." Elena said. "Who knows how many others there are?"

"I shouldn't be with him, should I?" Caroline asked. "Because if there is any danger…"

"I know, it's hard." Elena told her. "But I can tell he's still into you. It's your decision, though, Care. I would've walked away from Stefan long ago if I had to."

"Do you ever think you should?" Caroline asked.

"All the time, but I can't." Elena said. "After everything we've been through, I don't want to risk losing the one person that's helping me get through this." She got up and started to leave. Luckily, she knew the way back from the forest.

Damon was dropping Jeremy off at home. "Well, guess that turned out great for us."

"Whatever."

"Hey, what is your deal?" Damon asked him. "You've been in a mood all day. Does this have anything to do with Anna?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Jeremy told him.

"Look, you're not the only one who's had girl problems, Jeremy." Damon pointed out. "But that's no reason for you to act like a total jerk…"

"She dumped me, okay?!" Jeremy snapped. "She can't stay in town because of John and with Katherine around, you guys need me here. Before she left, she broke up with me. So just back off."

Damon looked at him. He hadn't expected him to react so strongly. He knew Jeremy liked Anna, he didn't know he'd fallen for her. Not knowing what else to say to him, he left.

Upstairs, Elena was in her room when Jeremy came back. "Hey." She said. "How was your trip?"

"We didn't find much about her, but we think this might help." Jeremy handed her the book Damon had given him earlier. "It's her family history. Maybe something in there will help you find out if there's a connection with you two."

"Thanks, Jer." Elena said.

"Are you okay, you look wiped out." Jeremy told her.

"Well, when you're on the run from a werewolf, it tends to wear one out." Elena said.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Jeremy said. "At least after tonight, I've still got you." He left the room. Elena sat down on her bed and opened the book.


	40. Memory Lane

Stefan woke with a start in his room. He had a weird dream about dancing with Katherine at the spring formal three years ago. What made it weird was that Elena was also there, which made no sense, since he didn't know her back then.

A few minutes later, he spotted Elena outside. He opened the door, surprised to see her there that early. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just had a bad dream." Stefan said. "Come in and I'll tell you about it." Elena walked into the house. The instant she did, though, Stefan pulled out a stake and stabbed her in the stomach.

"How'd you know it was me?" She asked him.

"Because Elena had plans this morning." Stefan told her. "And your little dream tipped me off." Elena had told him that vampires could get into others dreams and change things. He looked down and noticed he was still wearing the vervain bracelet Elena gave him.

Katherine pulled the stake out and knocked him to the ground. "Are we really going to do this again? I could rip you to shreds and to my nails at the same time."

"What are you even doing here, Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"I came to see you."

"What are you doing back in town?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Get out of here."

"I think I'll stay here, I mean you just let me in." Stefan knew she was right, but wasn't going to let her take control of the situation.

"If you even try anything, I won't hesitate to kill you."

At the Grill, Elena was going through the book Jeremy gave her. Then she saw Damon. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to see if you'd found anything."

"So far, all I saw was her family tree, but nothing that apparently relates back to me." Elena told him. "And a birthdate, but that's not much to go on." She sighed and closed the book, putting it in her bag.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at Jenna's barbecue." He told her.

"How'd you know about that?" Elena asked him.

"You invited us last week." Damon pointed out. "Plus, Mason's going to be there. I figured we could get some information about him, see if he's a threat."

"I don't know, Damon. It seems kinda risky." Elena said.

"Yeah, but we need to make sure." Elena knew he was right.

Back in the house, Katherine was reading a journal. "You know that's private, right?" Stefan asked, interrupting her.

"I know. Sorry. I just curious about what you'd been up to." Katherine said. "So, I heard about your little werewolf encounter."

"What do you know about werewolves?" Stefan asked her.

"It's best to stay clear of them during a full moon." Katherine said. "Seriously, their bite can kill."

"How do you know about them?" Stefan asked.

"Remember the spring formal?" Katherine asked him. "Before I left town?"

"Yeah." Stefan said, wishing he didn't.

"Well, it turns out, that Lockwood kid had a cousin at our school." Katherine said. "He wasn't a werewolf, but he was aware that he had the genes for it."

"So, all the Lockwoods are werewolves?" Stefan asked.

"No, the gene runs in the Lockwood family." Katherine corrected. "They're not all werewolves."

"How many are there?"

"I don't know." Katherine said. "I've known a couple of them, but that was before I'd turned."

"So, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"It's a long, complicated story." Katherine told him.

"We've got nothing but time." He pointed out. She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to win this one.

Elena was in the kitchen, helping Jenna set up. "Thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could use a day of distraction." She'd heard Caroline and Matt broke up and wanted to help get her mind off it.

"I still don't know why Damon's coming."

"Alaric called the shots on that one." Elena said. "It wouldn't kill you to be nice to him."

"Hey, guys." Mason showed up.

"And I'm out of here." Elena said, heading outside. She'd invited Stefan, but he hadn't shown up. She took out her phone and called him, but got his voice mail. "Hey. Just checking in. Did you get my message about Jenna's barbecue? Call me when you can." She hung up.

Just then, Caroline came outside. "Is that Stefan?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's been running late." Elena told her. "I wonder if I should be worried."

"I'm sure he's fine." Caroline said. "He is a hunter you know."

"In training." Elena pointed out.

"I don't see how you do this." Caroline said. "It's horrible just fighting the urge for blood every minute of every day."

"Yeah, it's kind of tricky." Elena admitted. "But as long as we're not hurting people…"

"I get it." Caroline said. "I'm actually surprised you're still together. I almost hurt Matt the other night, that's why we broke up." Elena looked at her.

Back in the Boarding House, Katherine had found herself tied up to a chair in the basement. The ropes had vervain on them. "Seriously? Was this necessary?" She asked.

"Well, I wanted to make sure you weren't going to try anything." Stefan told her.

"You're wearing vervain. It's not like I can compel you." Katherine pointed out.

"I know, I just don't trust you."

"Okay, I have a question, how can you handle having a girlfriend that's a vampire?" Katherine asked.

"We've already been over this, she's just as much a person as anyone else I've met."

"Well, I'll admit it bothers me a little that you've moved on."

"You disappeared, remember?" Stefan pointed out.

"I wanted to tell you, but Emily said it'd be better if I didn't." Katherine explained. "I was going to when you brought me home that night."

Flashback:

Stefan was walking Katherine home after the dance. "I had a really good time, Stefan."

"Even though that girl tore your dress." He indicated to a small rip in the skirt.

"It's nothing, when you're used to sewing your own gowns." Katherine told him.

"We've been friends a long time," He said. "and I know you might only see me as a friend, but I think I'm falling in love with you."

"There's a lot about my family you don't know about." Katherine said. Before either one could say anything else, the door opened. "Emily." Katherine turned to Stefan. "I guess I'll see you around." She seemed kind of sad.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked.

"I will be." She told him. "A good night's sleep should do it." She went inside.

"You were going to tell him, weren't you?" Emily asked once she was inside.

"I can't, Emily." Katherine said. "If I tell any of them, they'll try to find me. I can't have that happen." She went up to her room. She pulled out a paper and started writing a letter. End flashback.

"I wrote a letter, but something happened before I could send it. I carried it on me all these years." She reached into her sweater's pocket, then looked stunned. Stefan knew something was wrong. "It must've fallen out in the tomb. That's the last place I took it out."

"If you go there, you're trapped."

"I know, ironic, isn't it?" Katherine told him.

Back at the party, the group was playing Pictionary. "Ballerina." Jenna guessed.

"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" That was Caroline.

"Uh, no." Damon said.

"Dances with the wolves" Everyone turned to stare at Mason.

"Right."

"How is that a wolf?" Jenna asked as he left the room.

"No idea." Elena said. "He's not very good at drawing, is he?" Everyone agreed and she left to join him. "Well, apart from this weird vibe," She began. "Mason seems pretty normal. What do you think?"

"Yeah, but he still went after Care the other night." Damon said.

"There has to be a reason for it." Elena pointed out. "We should keep an eye on him." Jenna entered the kitchen.

"So this is where you've gone to. Having a good time?"

"Yes, thanks for inviting me."

"I didn't have much choice." Jenna pointed out.

"I know what you must think of me."

"No, you don't." Jenna said. "I've met guys like you before and it never ended well."

"What is that?" Damon asked, noticing the set of knifes.

"It's my mother's silver set." Jenna said. Elena looked at Damon.

"Don't even think about it." She whispered. "Last thing we want to do is piss him off." He nodded.

Back in the Salvatore's basement. Katherine was still tied up. "I know you think I'm a total bitch because of everything."

"You could've at least called us when you got back."

"No, I really couldn't have, Stefan." Katherine pointed out. "The second I set foot back in this town, those vampires grabbed me and threw me into the tomb."

"If you had told us…"

"If I'd told you, you'd be dead right now. And I don't mean vampire dead." Katherine said. "Anyway, when I was in the tomb, I met a vampire named Pearl. She told me how naïve she'd been years ago and that the founders had wrongfully locked her up."

"Pearl. Anna's mother?" Stefan asked.

"Sounds right." Katherine said. "When I explained what was going on, she helped me escape by giving me vampire blood."

Flashback: Katherine is in the tomb. She's just woken up on the ground. Pearl helped her up. "Get up, quickly."

"What happened to me?" Katherine asked her.

"I gave you my blood. It should give you enough time to escape." Pearl told her. Katherine's eyes widened as she realized what was going on.

"But, what if I can't…"

"I know you'll do whatever it takes to survive." Pearl told her. "Now, go. I've compelled the guards and a friend of yours is outside. He'll help you."

"Thank you, you'll never know how grateful I am for this." Katherine said, hugging her.

"I've been on the run myself. Hurry, before they get suspicious." End flashback.

"You knew she was going to turn you, didn't she?" Stefan asked her.

"As far as we both knew, it was the only way for me to escape the tomb." Katherine said.

"Even though you knew she'd be trapped there?"

"There was no way she could've escaped." Katherine pointed out. "By forcing me into that position, it was the only way out. Besides, I'm the one who got Anna into town, since I owed her mother for this."

In the kitchen, Damon ran into Mason. "Okay, what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've been watching you all day and you've been looking at me as though I'm a suspect in a murder case." Mason told him.

"You know I'm on the Council, right?"

"Great, so you're a believer. Of course you are." Mason said. "I should've known you'd discover my little secret."

"Why'd you go after Elena the other day?" Damon asked him.

"Look, I'm not out to hurt anyone. The other night, I couldn't chain myself down in time." Mason told him. "I don't have control once I shift." Elena was listening from the next room.

"You seem like a good guy, but you know what'll happen if you can't control it next time."

"I just came in to town to help my family." Mason said. "And I'm usually good at keeping myself chained down during the full moon." Elena walked into the room then.

"So, you know about us?" Elena asked, surprising both of them.

"I suspected." He told her. "But I've known you since you were like five and I know none of you would let anything happen to Tyler."

"I thought werewolves hated vampires." Damon said. Elena glared at him.

"Yeah, most of us have a thing against them." Mason said. "But I think all that rivalry is a load of crap."

"So, I guess we're all on the same side." Elena said. "I should go check on Caroline. I'm really worried about her." She walked out of the kitchen.

A few minutes later, she'd left Stefan another message. Now she was really getting worried. "Would I be the worst friend in the world if i abandon you and went to Stefan's?" She asked Caroline, who'd finished doing her nails.

"You want to leave?" Caroline asked.

"It's just that he hasn't calling me back and I'm starting to have this bad feeling." Elena told her.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Elena." Caroline said. Elena knew something was up, but decided to go along with it.

"Look, I just want to make sure nothing's happened." Elena told her.

"Fine, but I'll drive." Caroline said after a moment.

"Thanks, Caroline." Elena said. While she wasn't looking, Caroline deflated one of the tires.

"So, you met George while you were transitioning?" Stefan asked. They were still in the basement.

"He was going through some changes, too." Katherine said. "He helped me escape the tomb and leave town, took down any other vampire that got in our way."

"You said you knew you had to escape." Stefan said, starting to put the clues together. "But from what? Was something after you? Is that why you didn't want us to know?"

"We all have a past." Katherine said. "A few weeks after the formal, something happened with my family. And I knew that if anyone in town found out, I'd be dead before I even had a chance to run."

"So that day we saw you…" Stefan began.

"I was on my way to some safe house a few states away." Katherine told him. "But I had to pass through town to get to it. And then i was ambushed by those vampires and taken to the tomb."

"This whole time I thought you ditched us because you had moved on." Stefan said, getting angry. "But you were on the run from something the whole time when we could've helped you."

"No one could've helped me, Stefan." Katherine said. "Even Emily couldn't." She turned away from him as best as she could, though she was still tied down with vervain ropes.

The girls were in Caroline's car. "Thanks for doing this." Elena said.

"It's no problem." Caroline said. "I'm sure you two will manage to beat the impossible." Suddenly, the tire exploded. The car came to an abrupt stop.

"Are you kidding me?" Elena said, feeling frustrated.

"I'll call a tow truck." Caroline said.

Back at her house, everyone was leaving. "I should get going." Mason said. "I told Tyler I'd be back at eight."

"I should go, too." Alaric said. "I've got papers to grade." Damon noticed him and Jenna exchange a look.

"Same here." He added. "I've got a lot of paperwork to fill out." The guys all left and took off in different directions.

"Hey, Damon." He turned around and faced Mason. "I'm trusting you with my secret."

"You have nothing to worry about. I won't tell anyone." Damon said.

"When he makes that kind of promise, he always keeps it." Alaric added. They looked at him. "Sorry, I'm going." He left.

"Look, I don't trust you, but I don't think you're a bad guy, either." Damon said.

"The feeling's mutual." Mason told him. "So, I guess we're okay."

"Guess so." They shook hands, then left.

Back on the road, Elena and Caroline were waiting for the tow truck. "Are you sure the tow's coming?" Elena asked.

"I know, it's weird. They said they'd be here by now." Caroline said.

"You know what, this is ridiculous." Elena said. "We could just run over there."

"Wait, I can't just leave my car here." Caroline said.

"We can come back for it." She pointed out. Caroline gave her a look. "I'm sorry, but I'm really worried about Stefan."

"What's the rush?" Caroline asked. "Why are you rushing to get to a relationship that'll never work?"

"I know you're upset about Matt…"

"It's not about Matt." Caroline said. "He's human, you're a vampire. He's going to grow up and you're going to remain exactly the same as you are now."

"Why are you being like this?" Elena snapped. Caroline was really getting on her nerves by bringing up her insecurities about her own vampire issues. It's not like she hadn't thought about those problems, but she didn't want to think about it right now.

Just then, the tow truck came up. "Okay, you know what, I'm outta here." Elena said, still feeling hurt by Caroline. Before Caroline could say anything, she'd sped off.

In the basement of the boarding house, Katherine was still tied down.

"Okay, so if you ran to protect us, why come back now?" Stefan asked.

"It's complicated." She told him.

"Try me."

"Stefan, there are some things about the supernatural you still don't get." Katherine said. "Things that I can't even begin to explain to you, but you need to stay away from Elena."

"I'm not staying away from her just cause she's a vampire and you're jealous."

"Look, if you don't break up with her, I will kill her and everyone she loves." Katherine said.

"You know, I didn't want to do this, but if you don't stop talking…" Stefan pulled a stake out of his boot. "I won't hesitate to kill you." Katherine seemed to be surprised, then she quickly broke the vervain ropes.

Stefan noticed several red marks on her arms where the sleeves of her sweater weren't covered. "I've been learning how to break free from vervain-soaked traps for months." She told him, trying not to wince in pain.

"So why break out now?"

"You were the one asking all the questions." Katherine pointed out. "Figured I'd go along with it." Then she heard footsteps. She pushed Stefan into the wall and walked out of the room.

Upstairs, Elena was in the living room. "Stefan?" She called. Then she got the feeling someone was behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see Katherine behind her. What shocked her was how similar they looked.

"You must be Elena." Elena stared at her for a long moment before speaking.

"How in the world do we look alike?" She asked. Katherine looked at her and got closer. Suddenly, Elena grabbed her wrist and flipped her to the ground.

"I'm not here to fight you." Katherine told her, getting back to her feet.

"Elena?" Elena turned around and noticed Stefan in the room. When she glanced back, Katherine was gone. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but that was weird." Elena said. "Are you okay?"

"Not really." The two of them embraced.

"Something's up with Care."

"Well, there's only one way to find out if what you're thinking is true."

"I thought the bond broke."

"This isn't about the bond, I've just gotten good at reading my girlfriend."

At the Grill, Elena noticed Caroline sitting all by herself. She walked over to her. "Hey."

"Elena, I'm glad you're here." Caroline said. "I'm so sorry about everything I said. I don't know why I said those things."

"It's okay, Caroline. Most of them were true." Elena said. "It's just hard to hear, especially since I'm still not used to these changes."

"So, you're not mad?" Caroline asked. Elena noticed a flash of guilt in her eyes.

"You were just trying to look out for me." She lied.

"I really am sorry about this, Elena." Caroline said.

"It's okay." Elena said. She headed over to where Stefan was sitting.

"Everything okay with you two?"

"Yeah. Which is more than I can say about you and your ex." Elena pointed out.

"She threatened you, you know." Stefan told her.

"If she was going to hurt me, she would have. I mean, she was right in front of me."

"You only caught her off guard." Stefan pointed out. "It doesn't matter if you're human or vampire, you're still not safe from her."

"I'm not afraid of Katherine, Stefan."

"You should be."

"Why? Because she's trying to break us up?"

"She'd do whatever it takes to make us and our friends miserable if we don't."

"What are you saying?" Elena asked. "You think we should do what she says? She'll still keep torturing us anyway. She's a total bully, don't you think we should stand up to her?"

"She could go on a killing spree if we don't listen to her." He pointed out.

"I know she's dangerous, but everyday we're together, it's also dangerous." Elena added. "Wait, she wants us to fight and get between us."

"She already has." They looked at each other for a moment. Then Elena got up and walked out of the Grill.

Outside, Damon was leaving the Grill. "Bad day?" He looked up and noticed Katherine leaning against the wall.

"Now it's worse. I heard you were still here."

"Are you jealous that I spent the day with your brother?" Katherine asked him.

"Nothing to be jealous of, considering you don't care about anyone but yourself." Damon pointed out.

"You're in a mood. What's up?"

"Spent the day investigating the nature of werewolves." Damon said. "Apparently, their personality effects if they're actually a threat or not."

"Yeah, but even being friends with a wolf can be dangerous." Katherine said. "Especially if you're a vampire."

"What do you know about werewolves?" Damon asked.

"I've known a few." Katherine said. "But you should be careful Damon, they're pretty strong."

"Thanks for the tip. You know, for someone who pretends not to care, you sure do a good job of it." He told her.

"I never stopped caring, but I can't let you in right now." Katherine told him. "It just isn't the right time." She walked away.

Elena walked back into her bedroom. She couldn't help but think about the fight she had with Stefan. She hoped it was convincing enough. She was surprised that Stefan had even snuck into her room with a rope latter. She went to the window and quickly stuffed it in her closet.

"You okay?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, but you need to be more careful." She said, shutting her closet. "I hated that fight."

"So did I." Stefan said. They embraced each other.

"We were right about Caroline. Katherine got to her." Elena said.

"I feel bad she's using our friend to do her dirty work. As long as she believes we're fighting though, we should be okay." Stefan told her.

"I can't believe she's doing this." Elena said.

"Well, Katherine can be manipulative, but I have this feeling that she might not be our only enemy." Stefan said. "But we better watch our backs around her." Elena nodded.

"We're in this together, right?" She pointed out. They kissed and fell on top of the bed. They both knew that the road in front of them would be difficult, but as long as they remained a team, they could face anything, even Katherine.

**N/A: I wonder how long their truce with Mason will last and what's going on with Katherine? I'll have the next chapter up, hopefully in a week.**


	41. A Day in the Park

At home, Elena was getting ready to go out. Jeremy was with her. "I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf."

"We don't know that for sure." Elena pointed out. "All we know is that Mason is one."

"And we know he's apparently a good guy." Jeremy added.

"Well, I trust him anyway. And if Tyler's got his father's genes, maybe he knows something." Elena said.

"Look, Ty's my friend, okay? I could talk to him about it."

"You know it could be dangerous, right?"

"Who cares? It'd be more dangerous if one of us got bitten by one, right?" Jeremy pointed out.

"You know you don't have to do this."

"I know, but the five of us are still a team." Jeremy pointed out.

"Six of us." Elena reminded him. "You forgot about Care."

"Right, but whatever. It's not like I'm just going to flat-out ask him." He walked out of the room.

Elena opened the door. "Is the coast clear?" She heard a voice ask softly. She walked over and closed her bedroom door.

"Okay, I think you're good now." Elena said. The closet door opened and Stefan walked out.

"We need better hiding places."

"It was either in my wardrobe or under the bed." Elena pointed out.

"You ready?"

"No. I hate fighting with you, even if it's fake."

"I don't like it, either. But if Katherine believes we're fighting, then she'll think she's winning."

"It's still not easy, especially with Caroline spying on us." Elena pointed out.

"We'll be okay, though." Stefan told her. He ran his hand through her hair. "I know keeping up this fight for a while will be tough, but it'll keep Katherine from hurting anyone."

"Just promise me that she won't tear us apart." Elena said. "We can fake a fight, but I wouldn't be able to stand it if I lost you."

"She won't tear us apart." Stefan said. "Besides, you're the one who came up with those safe words so that we don't go too far in the fight."

"Whatever, Stefan." Elena said. She smiled. He smiled back, remembering it was one of the words they'd agreed on.

"I love you, too." He told her. She kissed him.

At the park, Stefan was by himself. He had no idea why he'd signed up to help clean up the park. Then he noticed Mason and walked over to him "Hey."

"Stefan, right? The other Salvatore."

"Yeah, that would be me." Stefan said. "Just you know, my brother doesn't keep secrets from me."

"Yeah, he mentioned that. He also said the next time I go after your girl…"

"Whoa, there's not going to be a next time." Stefan pointed out. "You'll be more careful, then."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe not, but I know you want to protect your family as much as I want to help my friends."

"I don't want this to happen to Tyler."

"He'll be fine as long as he has you to help him." Stefan pointed out.

"It's not that easy, Stefan." Mason said. "There's a reason we refer to the wolf gene as a curse." He picked up the boxes and left.

Damon noticed Mason leaving and walked over to Stefan. "What's going on?"

"Just helping him out." Stefan said. Damon looked at him. "He's unsure of how to help Tyler if he changes."

"If. So, his nephew's not a werewolf?"

"Katherine said something about the gene being in the family, but not all of them being wolves." Stefan remembered. "Maybe there's something else causes the shift besides the full moon."

"Well, we've asked that girl from Duke to send over copies of werewolf notes. Maybe there's something in them that will help us figure out how it's triggered."

At the Grill, Jeremy was getting up to leave, when he noticed Tyler sitting by himself. He walked over to him, and knew he had to be careful around him. He still wasn't sure about anything. "Hey. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, Gilbert." Tyler said. He seemed to be in a bad mood.

"You okay?"

"No, and I don't mean to take it out on you." Tyler said. "Bad day, bad month. Listen, you were cool that day, at the wake. Thanks for that. You and Vicki really helped with that."

"How are you two doing, anyway?" Jeremy asked.

"Still just friends." Tyler said. "She might be seeing counselors, but I think she's still got some issues under the surface."

"Yeah, I know what that's like." Jeremy said, remembering how rough it'd been when he'd first turned. "What brings you here?"

"Just trying to get my mind off things." Tyler told him. Jeremy wanted to ask him if he knew anything, when two girls approached their table.

"Hey, guys."

"So, what's going on?"

"My mom's out all day." Tyler said. "We can all hang out together."

"Sounds cool."

"You in?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah."

"Then let's go." The girls said. The guys left with them.

Back at the park, Elena and Caroline had were carrying paint supplies over to the wall where they'd be working. "So suddenly, she's on the running for mother of the year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most." Caroline said. Elena was barely listening. "I'm babbling, you don't want to hear all this."

"No, sorry. Then what happened?" Elena asked.

"Well, I was a bitch but it's part of the process." Elena almost wanted to laugh at that statement. "So, how are things between you and Stefan?"

"He's been avoiding me since the fight." Elena lied, hoping that her acting skills were working. "He's been dodging my calls and blowing me off just because he thinks Katherine might try to kill me."

"Well, Katherine is dangerous. Maybe he's doing the right thing." Caroline told her. She knew that Katherine got to her, then. She could see the fear in Care's eyes when she mentioned her name.

"I know she's dangerous, but I also know he's trying to protect me, but it feels as though he's given up on us." She explained.

Meanwhile, Damon noticed Sheriff Forbes talking with Mason. He left her standing there. He decided to talk to her and walked over. "Hey, I noticed you and Mason talking. What's going on?"

"I just asked him to help with the cleanup in the woods." She told him.

"Do you want me to help him?" He asked her. He wanted to get to know Mason better, knowing he wasn't their enemy now.

"No, I think he…he can handle it." Damon looked at her. She seemed distracted and kind of upset.

"Are you okay, Liz? You seem a little upset."

"It's Caroline." Liz explained. "We had a moment."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, Damon. Thank you. It's just the horrible parental skills paying off." She told him.

"Hey, I get it. It took me time to get used to looking after my brother." He said. He started to walk toward where Caroline and Elena were.

The girls were painting. Elena looked over her shoulder at Stefan, who was working a few feet away. Caroline caught her looking, which is what she'd hoped. "Uh oh. Longing looks are being exchanged."

"I'm gonna go talk to him." Elena said.

"No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea." Caroline said, trying to keep her from going. She shrugged her off and walked toward Stefan.

Damon walked over to Caroline, having noticed the struggle. "What's her problem?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?" Damon asked.

"Like you're one to lecture me on how hard she has it." Caroline said sarcastically. He glared at her and she realized she'd hit a weak point, accidentally.

"Do you still have feelings for Katherine?" Elena asked Stefan. They agreed that would start their argument-for today, at least.

"Of course I don't, but she's still very dangerous." He pointed out. "Don't make this harder than this has to be."

"So, this isn't up for discussion. Is that what you're saying?" Elena asked.

"No, I'm saying it's not up for discussion right now, because people might be listening." Stefan told her. Elena looked to where Caroline was. Sure enough, she saw Caroline turn back to her work and pretend to paint as though she wasn't listening to their argument.

"Okay, when should we talk?"

"We can't, you know it's too risky." He pointed out. Translation: We need to be more careful, I think she's getting suspicious. Elena nodded once.

"It's like we could've been twins, though." Elena said. "We almost look exactly the same. How can you hate her and be in love with me?" She hoped was pulling off this acting thing right. "Are you projecting you're feelings for her onto me?"

"What?" Elena glared at him. At that second, his phone buzzed. He subtly looked at the text message: Just go along with it. Stefan looked at her, getting it now. "No, well, I don't know…"

"Do you still care about her more than me?"

"I can't do this right now, Elena."

"Fine, Stefan. Whatever." Elena said. She walked off, pretending to be angry with him.

Meanwhile, Damon was with Caroline. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you and I know you have to keep your secret, but you could give your mom a break." Damon said. "Being a single parent is rough."

"Are you just saying that because you're Stefan's legal guardian?" She asked, still painting.

"No, it's because I know how hard life is. We weren't all that close before." Damon told her. "When we lost our parents, we were all we had. I'm saying this because you clearly don't understand, you should be grateful for the time you do get with your mom while you still have her." Caroline looked back at where Stefan was standing. She took off running at normal speed, after Elena.

He watched her run off, then headed back to where the other families were.

Jeremy and Tyler were hanging out with the girls, Sarah and Aimee. "I would've invited Vic, but she can't get off work."

"Yeah, somehow, I think our new friends here would be jealous." Jeremy said. Aimee walked over to Tyler while Jeremy sat down.

"Thanks for having us over. I think Sarah got a thing for Jeremy." He overheard her telling him. He blushed. Sarah noticed Jeremy's notebook.

"Can I see?"

"No way." Jeremy said, holding it out of reach.

"Oh, come on, Jer." Aimee said.

"Yeah, show us what you've been up to." Tyler said. Jeremy looked at him. Ever since they discovered their mutual interest in art, they'd email pictures that they'd made.

"Oh, all right." Jeremy said. He opened it to his most recent set. There was a lone white wolf standing by a water fall in one. Another one showed a black wolf in the woods.

"Huh, looks like someone's into nature." Jeremy looked at Tyler. He seemed a little uncomfortable.

"What is this?" Tyler asked, looking at the drawing.

"Just something I'd seen recently." Jeremy said. "Do you still draw?"

"Yes." Tyler said. "You know, I'd been working on something. I'll show you, in private."

"Okay." Jeremy said. He followed him into the next room. Tyler closed the door.

"Okay, what were those pictures all about?" Tyler asked.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy said.

"Why wolves?" Tyler grabbed him, but Jeremy pushed him off easily. He seemed surprised.

"Okay, calm down." Jeremy said.

"What do you know, Jeremy?" Tyler asked, still surprised at how strong he was.

"I know you're secret." Jeremy told him. "I'll tell you how much I know if you promise never to tell anyone about this fight." Tyler nodded.

Back at the park, Damon walked over to Mason. "Hey."

"Hi."

"I saw you talking with Stefan earlier. What was that about?"

"Pretty much the same thing I told you the other day." He said. "I'll see you around." He headed back toward the woods. Stefan walked over to him.

"Looks like you two are getting along well."

"Wish I could say the same for you and your girlfriend." Damon said. "What were you two fighting about, anyway?"

"Katherine." Stefan told him. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Hey, no matter what happens with you two, I'm here for you." Damon told him. Stefan nodded, feeling a little guilty about lying to his brother. But he knew it was for the best.

Elena sat at the woods, near a small stream. She was still angry with Caroline, but understood why she was doing this. She was also a little relieved that the plan was working though.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked, sitting next to her.

"No." She said.

"You know, maybe it's for the best."

"How is this for the best?" Elena snapped. "None of this is okay." She took a deep breath. "Sorry, I don't mean to take it out on you. You're just trying to be a friend."

"I'm not a very good friend." Caroline said. She knew she felt guilty for what she was doing, but she also knew it wasn't her fault that Katherine was blackmailing her. Then she looked up.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"My mom." Elena followed her gaze and saw the sheriff standing a distance away from them.

"Are you okay?" She asked her, concerned.

"Yeah." Caroline said. "I've got to make things right with her." She got up.

"I'm coming with you." Elena told her. "If you need any support."

"Are you sure you want to come?" Caroline asked her.

"Of course I do. No matter what you've done, you're still a friend." Caroline seemed surprised.

"Okay, I think there's a shortcut around here."

Back at the Lockwood House, Jeremy and Tyler were talking. "How do you know about me?" Tyler asked.

"Uncle John had this old journal." Jeremy explained. "It was written by an ancestor who wrote about this curse in your family, about werewolves. I know it's crazy, but then the other day my sister was nearly attacked by a wolf during the full moon."

"I was there when it happened."

"Is it true?" Jeremy asked him.

"About Uncle Mason? Yeah." Tyler said.

"But you're not a…" Jeremy began to ask.

"A wolf? Sorry, a werewolf? No." He said. "I mean, not yet. Just saying it out loud, I sound crazy."

"You're not crazy." Jeremy said. "I've witnessed stranger things before. Compared to that, you're normal."

"According to my uncle, you trigger the curse by killing someone." Tyler explained. "It doesn't matter if it's an accident. If I kill someone, the next full moon, I'll be a wolf."

"You really think he's here to help you?" Jeremy asked. He was slightly disturbed by this information. He knew that a wolf bite would be fatal to him, but he also didn't want to lose one of his closest friends.

"I think that Mason does want to help me, but I also feel like he has a hidden agenda, too." Tyler said.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked him.

"I caught him looking for this the other night." Tyler said, showing him a white rock with a clear surface.

In the woods, the girls were following the path. Elena tripped over what seemed to be the third tree branch so far. "Caroline, are you sure you know where we're going?" She asked her, brushing the dust off her clothes.

"Well, I've only taken this shortcut once before." Caroline admitted. "These woods all look the same to me."

"Great." Elena said. She sat down. "I've been out in these woods so many times, and this is officially the first time I've ever gotten lost in them."

Then they heard a rustling in the bushes. Elena tensed. "What are you two doing out here?" She was relieved that it was only Mason.

"Taking the longest shortcut ever." She told him. Caroline shrugged.

"I'm bad with directions. So sue me." She said.

"Have you seen Sheriff Forbes?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, she's in the clearing, near the old family cell" He told them. "If you take the path over there." He pointed to a trail on their left. "You'll find her."

"Come on, Elena." Caroline said. They started to head down the path he pointed out. She turned around. "Thank you." Then she continued following after Elena.

Following his directions, they finally made it to the clearing. "Over there." Elena pointed.

Caroline seemed hesitant, but she walked over to her anyway. "Are you sure you want me here?" Elena asked.

"Yes."

That's when she turned around and noticed the girls. "What are you doing out here?"

"Being supportive." Elena said, pushing Caroline to go to her.

"Hi, Mom." Elena watched as they talked, deciding not to eavesdrop on them. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and grabbed the person's arm.

"Easy, Elena." She relaxed.

"How'd you two find us out here?" Elena asked.

"Mason told us you'd gotten lost in the woods and led us here." Damon explained. "Of course, as soon as we got here, we lost him."

"We were worried about Caroline."

She and Sheriff Forbes walked over to them. "I've been having a rough time since the incident." Caroline was telling her.

"I get it, Care. Sometimes, you need your space."

"Hey, I'm just glad I have you for a mom."

Elena smiled. She looked over at Damon. "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"

"Hey, I'm capable of being sensitive."

"Yeah, he just doesn't like showing it." Stefan added. Elena hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"They're having a moment." She pointed out. "Don't ruin it." They watched as Caroline and her mother made up.

Jeremy was looking at the rock that Tyler had showed him. "What is it?" He asked.

"It's a moonstone." Tyler explained. "I looked it up online. It's a natural rock but there are all these supernatural legends attached to them."

"Why didn't you give it to him?" Jeremy asked him.

"While I believe that Mason's here to help, I don't entirely trust him." Tyler told him. "And for some reason, he's after this rock. I'm not just going to hand it over until I know I can trust him."

"You know you can trust me, right? I won't tell anyone about this." Jeremy said. He felt bad that he'd have to hide it from Elena, since they never kept secrets, but Tyler was also his friend.

"Yeah, and what was that earlier?" Tyler asked him. "When I grabbed you, you were pretty strong."

"Can we keep that just between us?" Jeremy said. "Look, I want to tell you everything, but I'd be in huge trouble if I did."

"Got it. I won't say anything. So, you been working out lately?"

"Something like that." Jeremy said. He figured he should keep his own supernatural abilities a secret from him, unless there was a problem and he really had to tell him.

A few hours later, Caroline showed up at the Boarding House. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"I told my mom I'd be staying at your place for a few days. And I wanted to talk to you." Caroline said. She tried to step inside, but couldn't.

"Hang on." Elena said. She walked into the hallway. When she returned, Stefan was with her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Feeling guilty."

"Come in and you two can talk about it." Caroline stepped inside the house.

"Why couldn't I…"

"Vampires need to be invited into a person's home by someone that lives there." Elena explained. "Come on, I think they'll give us privacy in the living room."

"Where's Damon?"

"I think he went to your place to talk with your mom about a few things." Elena told her. She pinched the bridge between her nose and forehead. Ever since their little hike through the woods, she'd felt weak and tired.

The girls sat down in the living room. "So, why are you really here?" Elena asked.

"To apologize for being such a bitch to everyone lately." Caroline said. "And because I'm afraid to sleep at home."

"Why?" Elena asked. She was concerned, even if her friend was working with Katherine. "What has you so scared about being in your own house?"

"Because Katherine's going to be there." Caroline said. "She told me I had to spy on you and report back to her. She's going to want to know everything that happened today."

"I know that." Elena said. "I figured it's why you'd been acting so strangely even after the five of us have been helping you. Then I realized that she must've done something to get a hold on you. Who did she threaten?"

"Matt." Caroline said so quietly that even with her vampire hearing, Elena barely heard it. "She threatened Matt. I'm so scared of her." Elena held her as she started to cry.

"We're all scared of her, Care. It's okay."

"Why is she doing this? What does she want?" Caroline asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. We have no idea."

A few hours later, Caroline had fallen asleep on the couch. Elena folded a blanket over her and headed into the hallway. Damon entered the house then. "Caroline's asleep on the couch. It's been a rough day for her."

"I can imagine it has been." He said.

"I'm going home. Thanks for helping her fix things with her mom."

"Relationships like that are important. You know that." Elena smiled, trying not to think of her own parents. She started to leave.

"I think you might want to check on Stefan." He continued. "I get that you're not together anymore, but someone has to talk to him." Elena paused, worried. What the heck had happened in the short time she was gone?

Stefan was sitting alone in his room when she entered. "I'm fine, if that's what you're thinking."

"It's me." Elena told him. He turned around. "Are you okay?"

"I think I hurt my ankle." He told her.

"Let me see." She sat down next to him. "Where does it hurt?"

"Ow!"

"Sorry!" Elena said as he winced in pain.

"It's okay, it's okay."

"That is not okay. You're hurt. I think it's just sprained." She realized how close they were sitting and backed away slightly. If Damon walked in, then they'd be caught.

Then she felt a slight headache. "Are you okay?" Stefan asked her.

"Yeah, it's just been a really long, really stressful day." She told him. She started to get up, but he grabbed her arm.

"Hey, when's the last time you fed?" He asked.

"A couple days ago. With Katherine around, we've been trying to keep even more of a low profile." Elena told him.

"Elena…"

"Stefan, don't. You know what happened last time."

"You need help, Elena. Let me help you." She sighed, knowing that he was right. "You should probably go first, I don't want you to pass out if you try to help me."

He held out his hand. Elena bit into his wrist and began to drink from him. After a couple of minutes, she withdrew her fangs from him and kissed his hand. Then, she bit into her own wrist and gave her blood to Stefan, to heal him. The two of them looked at each other.

"Thanks." Elena said. He ran his hand through her hair and pulled a leaf out of it.

"Were you hiking or visiting your parents?" He asked her. She laughed, causing him to smile.

She looked at him, knowing that even though they were "fighting", he was a great guy and knew that Katherine couldn't separate them, no matter what. She leaned forward and kissed him. She felt him respond with equal passion.

"Elena…" She broke the kiss and separated from him, startled.

"Did you say something?" Elena asked him. Stefan shook his head. Then she remembered something she read when she was studying up on vampirism. Then, with her thoughts, she decided to try something. Without speaking, she projected one word. "Stefan?"

He looked at her, surprised. "Elena?" He thought back. They both looked at each other, in shock.

"Wait, that feeling of fear I'm getting, is that coming from you?" Elena thought. Stefan nodded.

"You're panicking inside."

"Well, so are you. Wait, why do I know that? Unless…" Elena stood up. "Uh oh."

"What is it?"

"The blood bond." She thought to him. "It's back."


	42. Chapter 42

"How can it be back?" She shrugged, and he sighed. "Last time, we could only sense feelings, and now we're reading each other's thoughts?"

"Depends on the strength of the bond I guess, you're forgetting I'm not an expert." She projected back.

"Maybe you could go through the notes again." He suggested.

"We'll see."

The next morning, Elena woke up in her room to find Stefan still asleep next to her. She smiled. She knew they would have to figure out how to break the blood bond, although since it was stronger than last time, she was worried they might have to do something more drastic to break it.

"You're staring." He said.

"I'm gazing." Elena corrected.

"It's creepy."

"It's romantic." He looked over at her, then covered his face with a pillow.

"Hey!" They fought for a few seconds, then Elena quickly knocked it away from him with her speed and kissed him.

"This is bad of us." She thought as they kissed. "If Katherine finds out…"

"Katherine who?" She heard him reply.

After a few minutes, Elena broke the kiss. "Okay, I need to get ready. I'm late. I'm decorating at the Lockwood charity thing." She told him.

"So am I." He said.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Elena asked.

"It's not like we have much to worry about, other than being seen together." He pointed out.

"Okay, no talking or gazing at each other from afar." She told him.

"Of course."

"If she finds out we're faking this fight…" She said telepathically.

"We'll be okay, I know we'll work it out." He responded.

"Are you sure about this?" Elena asked. "If I do this again, it might make the bond even stronger."

"I don't mind, besides, you're still not fully recovered from yesterday. I can feel that." Stefan pointed out. She bent over and drank from his wrist again. She bandaged it with the first aid kit she'd kept under her bed.

"We'll get through this, no matter how hard it gets." Stefan said.

"I love you, Stefan." Elena said. They kissed again, gently.

At the Boarding House, Jeremy knocked on the door. Damon seemed surprised to see him. "Hey, we need to talk."

"What's up?"

"Tyler's not a werewolf yet." Jeremy told him. "In order to trigger the curse, he has to kill a person."

"Whoa." He let him into the house. "Does it count even if it's an accident?"

"Afraid so, Damon." Jeremy said. "According to Tyler, Mason triggered his by accident because someone picked a fight with him. Speaking of Mason, you might want to be careful around him."

"What do you mean?"

"He's looking for a moonstone, a special rock related to the werewolves legend." Jeremy told him. "That's part of why he's here."

"A moonstone? Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be telling your sister?" Damon asked.

"I didn't tell her I saw Tyler." Jeremy explained. "And she seemed kind of distracted when I tried to tell her."

"Well, she has been dealing with a lot lately." Damon pointed out. "Especially with Caroline."

"Yeah, I know." Jeremy said. "But I figured I should tell someone and you're the only other person I could think of."

At the Lockwood's, everyone was helping set up for the masquerade ball. Elena noticed Bonnie carrying a box of decorations. "Hey, you're here."

"Like I had a choice. I signed on to help a month ago and forgot until the last second." Bonnie said. She looked around.

"Caroline's not here, I told you she wasn't coming." Elena reminded her.

"I just wanted to be sure."

"You need to talk with her eventually, you can't just avoid her, Bon." Elena pointed out. "How's it any different than ignoring me if the situation were reversed?"

"I get it, but that's not it. Ever since she turned, we've barely seen each other." Bonnie told her. Elena felt like she'd been slapped. True, she'd been busy helping Caroline, but it's not like she was trying to Bonnie on purpose.

"Come with me?"

"Where?"

"If you still trust me, come with me." Elena said, extending her hand to her. Bonnie seemed to hesitate, but she finally took her hand and let her lead her toward the river.

Damon and Jeremy noticed Alaric a few feet away. "Rick!" Damon called.

"What's up?" He asked them.

"I found out something. Mason's been looking for a moonstone." Jeremy told him.

"Does Elena know about this?"

"Not yet." He admitted.

"What is that?" Damon asked.

"Isobel's research from Duke. Her assistant sent it to me." Alaric told them. "Remember that curse she told us about?"

"Yeah, the one where wolves could only turn on the full moon and vampires were weakened by the sun." Jeremy said.

"Well, with some exceptions." Damon pointed out. Jeremy looked at his ring self-consciously. "What did you find?"

"According to the legend, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with a moonstone." Alaric told them.

"Sealed? You mean, like with magic?" Jeremy asked.

"Sort of like that." Damon said. "Whatever seals the curse is usually the key to unsealing it. Kinda like the tomb, for example."

"Don't remind me." Jeremy said. "Besides, we swore never to talk about that again. Bonnie still gets upset if you bring it up."

"Maybe Mason Lockwood believes he can use the moonstone to break the curse." Alaric said.

"If that's true, then why would he want to turn at wi…" Damon began, then he figured it out. "If he wanted to break the curse, he wouldn't want it for himself. He'd want to make sure his nephew never turned." He turned to Jeremy. "You said you know where the stone is?"

"Tyler has it." Jeremy told him.

"Can you get it?" Damon asked.

"I can try." Jeremy said.

Elena was walking with Bonnie in the garden. She'd told her everything that was happening. "I can't believe this." Bonnie said.

"I know it's a lot. Katherine's gonna do everything that she can to drive me and Stefan apart and Caroline just got trapped in the middle." Elena said.

"It's not that you and Stefan are pretending to fight, is that I didn't even know you guys were fighting at all." Bonnie told her.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to keep things from you, but it's been really complicated." Elena said. "And now we've got to deal with the blood bond between us. Again."

"I could try to help, but if it's strong, I doubt I could do anything."

"Thanks anyway, but this whole thing with Caroline…she needs you more than I do right now." Elena said.

"I'm still getting used to the idea of her being one." Bonnie said. "We should get back before they notice we're missing."

A few minutes later, Bonnie passed Mason and accidentally bumped into him. "Sorry."

"No problem." She said, getting a weird feeling. Stefan walked over to her.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Bonnie said. "I think I had a vision."

"What did you see?" Stefan asked her.

"I saw Mason with Elena. They were together."

"Was anyone else with them?"

"No, it was just them. Why?"

"Because I know Elena would never go near him alone." Stefan told her. "She's been trying to avoid him when she can, and now I think she was right to not fully trust him."

"So that girl I saw…" Bonnie began, realizing what he'd already figured out.

"Was Katherine." He finished for her.

A few feet away, Elena noticed them talking. She was trying not to listen in, when she got the feeling she wasn't alone. "Bad idea to sneak up on me."

"Someone's paranoid." She turned and saw Damon behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for my brother," He told her. "And trying to ditch yours."

"Jeremy's here?" Elena asked.

"He's probably behind me."

"Stefan's with Bonnie." Elena told him. He left the second she found Jeremy.

"What are you doing, Jeremy?" Elena asked.

"Damon and I are looking into something." Jeremy told her.

"Are you crazy?"

"Look, we're always going to be a team." Jeremy pointed out. "I'll catch up with you later." He left.

Meanwhile, Damon found Stefan. He was explaining what Bonnie had found. "Katherine's with Mason Lockwood?" He asked.

"It makes sense. He shows up in town a day after she does. We should've connected it sooner." Stefan said.

"I know, but it makes no sense. Aside from the werewolf thing, he's a surfer." Damon said. Then he realized it. "She's using him. That must be it."

"What do you mean?"

"Mason's looking for a moonstone that allegedly can break the full moon werewolf curse." Damon explained. "I think Katherine might be the one who's really after it."

"Why?"

"I have no idea." Damon admitted. "But think about it: she leaves without letting anyone know where she is, then she just shows up out of the blue three years later? She must be up to something."

"How are we going to find the moonstone?" Stefan asked.

"Jeremy said he could get it from Tyler." Damon told him.

Jeremy walked up to Tyler as he was working on the decorations for the party. "Hey, man."

"Hey!"

"I did a little research on that stone you showed me." Jeremy told him.

"Why?"

"I told you, my family's into those weird legends." Jeremy said.

"Right." Tyler said. "So, what'd you find?"

"Well, it turns out that it's part of this really old legend, but I want to make sure it's the same stone." Jeremy said. "You don't mind if I check it again, do you?"

"I'm sorry, man. I gave it to my uncle." Tyler said.

"What? Why?" Jeremy asked.

"Because I'm done with legends and curses. I don't want anything to do with it, okay?" Tyler told him. Jeremy was surprised by his tone, then noticed his expression. Tyler Lockwood, one of his oldest friends, was scared.

He knew the feeling all too well, he was completely freaked out when he first turned. If Elena hadn't been going through it with him, he wasn't sure he would've made it.

"Okay." Jeremy told him. "It's probably for the best, anyway."

"Hey, thanks for being cool about all this." Tyler told him.

"Hey, it's no problem." Jeremy said. "Besides, I know that if I told you any supernatural secrets, you'd do the same for me." He walked away then. He knew he couldn't reveal their secret to him. But right now, they had other problems to deal with, like finding the moonstone.


	43. Finding the Moonstone

Bonnie once again wondered how she got involved in these situations. She had been working on hanging streamers when the Salvatores showed up and led her outside. Apparently, Jeremy wasn't able to get the moonstone because Tyler had given it to Mason.

"Okay, I'm not taking another step. We've been walking for almost half an hour and I'm pretty sure Mrs. Lockwood will kill me if I don't get back to work soon." She told them.

"I get it, but this is kind of important." Damon told her. She seemed hesitant.

"Look, we get how you feel about helping us right now, especially with everything going on with your friend." Stefan told her. "But you connected Mason with Katherine, so maybe we have a chance at getting an upper hand on them."

"I'm listening." Bonnie said. Just then, Stefan's phone started to ring. He looked at the caller ID.

"It's Elena." He told them. "I have to fill her in." He left to talk with her over the phone.

"Think you can see if Mason gave her the moonstone?" Damon asked.

"My visions don't work like that." Bonnie told him. "I don't get to ask questions."

"Right, forgot about that. What about that thing you do to take down a vampire?" Damon asked her. "You know, where you drop them by just looking?"

"It's like an aneurysm." Bonnie said. "Since I know they heal fast, I do it over and over till they pass out."

"Does it just work on them?"

"It'd work on anyone with a supernatural healing ability," She informed him. "But I don't want to hurt him."

"Look, I'm not sure who's side Mason is on, but I know Katherine wants to hurt Elena." Damon told her. "I'm just saying, maybe we could temporarily incapacitate him. I don't like it any more than you do, but we need to find out what's going on with them." Bonnie nodded, understanding.

About an hour later, they were at the Salvatore's house, with an unconscious Mason. "I brought this to tie him down. Doubt it'll hold him long, but hopefully you'll get the answers you need." Bonnie said.

"Thanks." Then she walked over to him and put her hands on his head. "What are you doing?"

"You wanted me to find to moonstone, right?" Bonnie pointed out. "Okay, I think I found it. Looks like it's…in a well." She got up and left. "I'm done here."

Back at the Lockwoods, Elena and Matt were still working on the outside decorations. "So where's Caroline?" Matt asked. "This is like her thing. I can't believe she's not here."

"She has something else to do." Elena told him. She could've just told him that Caroline was spending time with her mother, but she thought he wouldn't believe her. Heck, she could barely even believe it herself. But she supposed anything was possible.

"Is she seeing someone?" Matt asked her. Elena was surprised that he even thought Caroline was thinking about being with another guy. As far as she knew, she was into Matt, even if her recent change did complicate things.

"Matt, come on. She's not seeing anyone." Elena told him. At that moment, Stefan and Tyler showed up.

"Have any of you seen Mason?" Tyler asked them. Elena could feel that Stefan was nervous. _Stupid blood bond!_ She thought to herself. She immediately turned red when she caught Stefan looking at her and remembered he could hear her thoughts now.

"He took off. He said he wouldn't be sure when he'd be back." Stefan told him. Elena had the feeling that he was lying.

"Weird. It's not like him to just take off. Then again, I wasn't sure why he even came here in the first place." Tyler said, walking away. Stefan's phone buzzed and he looked at it. Then he looked at Elena.

_Elena, I might need back up. Meet me in the woods, I'm sure you'll figure out where I am through this bond._ She heard him thinking. Then he left.

Elena turned to Matt. "Do I want to know?"

"We've been having a small fight." Elena told him.

"If you need some space, I can finish the lights." Matt said.

"Thank you, Matt." Elena said, feeling grateful. She wished she could tell him what he meant to her as a friend, but she knew they couldn't expose their secret. She took off in the direction of the woods.

At the Boarding House, Mason finally woke up, only to find himself tied up. "What is going on here?"

"Good. You're awake. I was starting to get bored." Damon walked over to him. "I'll let you go, but first you need to answer a few questions."

"Fine by me. I'm clearly not going anywhere for the next hour or two." Mason said.

"What the hell is this?" Damon turned around and saw Jeremy. "What are you doing?"

"Relax, I'm not the kind who would torture someone for information."

"Then why'd you tie him up?"

"So he wouldn't try to escape when we asked him about the moonstone."

"How do you know about that?" Mason asked, getting their attention.

"The how doesn't matter. Why were you after it to begin with?" Damon asked.

"Because I don't want Tyler to end up like me. If the curse is broken, then there's no risk of him turning into a werewolf." Mason told him.

"How did you find out about the moonstone, anyway?" Jeremy asked him.

"There was a family legend about the stone passed down for years." Mason said. "I didn't know it was real until Kat told me about it." Damon and Jeremy looked at each other.

Elena went into the woods and found Stefan no problem. "Stefan?" She thought.

"Right here." She glanced in the direction the thought came from and found him standing by a well.

"What's going on?" Elena asked aloud.

"Bonnie thinks the moonstone's down there." Stefan explained. They uncovered it. "You want to check this out?"

"I could probably get out faster." Elena told him.

"Careful down there." She nodded, then she jumped into the well. As soon as she touched the water, she figured out why Mason hid the stone down there. There were vervain plants in the water and it was burning her skin.

"Elena, what's going on?" She heard Stefan ask. She wasn't sure if he was speaking or using their bond, but she was glad he was there for once.

"This water's full of vervain!" Elena thought. "I'm going to need help!"

"Hang on."

Stefan found a chain next to the well and tried to move it, but it was too heavy for him to move. Luckily, Caroline arrived at that moment. "Where's Elena?" She asked.

"She's down there." Stefan told her. "It's full of vervain. We have to help her." Caroline grabbed the chain.

Back in the Boarding House, the guys were still talking.

"So, how do you know Katherine?" Damon asked.

"She helped me when I first turned, about a year ago." Mason said. "We've been hanging out ever since."

"Really? Cause last I checked, hanging out didn't mean…"

"Shut up, Jeremy." Damon said.

"Look, I never meant for things to go that far." Mason told him. "Sure, she's pretty and all, but I've got a girlfriend back home."

"Okay, here's the thing. I think Katherine's using you." Damon told him. "I know because she's been messing with us since she got here. The second she gets what she's looking for, she'll probably either leave you for dead or ditch you."

"Then it's a good thing she'll never find it." Mason said. "I've got it hidden somewhere safe."

"Wait, you believe us?" Jeremy asked.

"You guys have never given me a reason not to." Mason pointed out.

"Here's the thing, though. As a vampire, Katherine's probably going to be out for revenge once she figures out you betrayed her." Damon said. "I know you want to help you're nephew, but for your own safety, I think it's going to have to be at a distance from now on."

"Damon…" Jeremy began.

"No, he's right. Think about it, if I die, who else does Tyler have that can help him with this?" Mason pointed out. "I have to leave, at least I'll still be able to call him if he needs help. Gilbert," Jeremy looked at him. "Make sure he stays safe."

"I will." Jeremy said.

Back at the well, Caroline was helping Stefan. "Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am." He told her. Just then, Bonnie showed up.

"What's going on? You took off in a blur."

"I heard Elena scream. She's in trouble." Caroline said. "Please, help us." They both lured Stefan into the well. When he got close to the bottom, he found Elena.

_Elena?_ He thought. When he didn't get an answer, he realized it was because the vervain burned her so badly that she'd passed out. He took the chain and put it around her. "Help her up! Hurry!" He called to Caroline. She quickly lifted her friend out of the well. Bonnie was horrified when she saw how bad Elena was burned and quickly unchained her.

While they helped Elena out of the chain, Stefan found the moonstone and placed it in his pocket. "Stefan!" Caroline called. "We're ready for you!" He held onto the chain and let her bring him up.

"You okay?" Bonnie asked him. He nodded.

"How is she?" Stefan asked.

"It's okay. I gave her some of my blood." Bonnie told him. "It was the only way I could save my friend."

He looked at Elena. She was still unconscious, but her burns had healed. "You're going to be okay." He told her, holding her close.

A few hours later, he walked into the Boarding House. "All this for that?" Damon asked.

"I guess so." He tossed the moonstone to his brother. "So, how'd it go?"

"He's left town." Damon told him. "It was for the best, otherwise, she would've killed him."

"Yeah, Tyler seems really on edge." Stefan said. "I hope he'll be okay with all this."

Suddenly, a phone started vibrating. They looked at each other. Eventually, Damon picked up.

"Hello?"

"Damon, for once, I'm surprised." Katherine said. "Have you seen Mason?"

"No, I haven't seen him." He lied. "He took off from setting up hours ago, haven't heard from him since. I think he took off."

"Are you serious?" She sounded like she was tired.

"It's been a busy day. Though he hid the moonstone in a vervain-filled well, so I doubt he trusted you." Damon said. "I could set up a meeting between you two if you'd like."

"Thanks, but I never go back once a guy walks out on me." Katherine said.

"Right, because you've started hitting on me the second you got back in town." Damon pointed out.

"First off all, I was the one who left in that instance." Katherine said. "And second, do you really think I don't have a back-up plan? See you." She hung up. Damon tossed the phone against the wall.

"I hope he has a replacement plan." He said. Stefan was just looking at him in shock.

Back at home, Elena walked inside. "Where's Jeremy?" She asked.

"He headed to his room." Alaric said. "He seemed kind of stressed out." Elena noticed Jenna was on the phone. She didn't want to eavesdrop on her, since she trusted her. "Everything going okay?

"Yeah, I'm fine, Ric." Elena said, taking one of her bottles out of the refrigerator and started to leave.

"Elena." Jenna's voice made her turn around. "It's for you." She handed her the phone.

"Hello?" Elena asked.

"Hello, Elena." She heard a voice on the other end of the line that sounded just like her.

"Katherine."

"Did you enjoy your little meeting with Stefan this morning?" Elena seemed stunned. "I will always know, Elena. I will always be one step ahead of you. When are you gonna figure that out?" Katherine asked. "Do you know how easy it was to get inside of your house? To replace Aunt Jenna's vervain perfume to convince her to stop drinking her special tea?"

"No." Elena said.

"Jenna's been my little spy for days now." Katherine said.

"You compelled my aunt?" Elena asked, furious. "That is really low of you."

"Have you met me? I don't like playing the bad guy, but I'm good at it." Katherine told her. "Jenna actually listens to me so when I suggested that the world would be a much better place if she was just…" Elena noticed Jenna holding up a knife toward herself.

"No!" Elena rushed over to her and pushed her to the ground. When she checked for wounds, she felt a cut near her abdomen and saw she was bleeding, but otherwise unharmed.

"Well, you got the idea."

Elena hesitated. Alaric had seen everything that'd happened. "Can you help her?"

"After what Katherine did to Caroline?" Elena pointed out. "I can't risk that happening to her, too. No, this time we're doing it the old fashioned way. Call the hospital, I'll get Jeremy."

At the hospital, Elena met Jeremy in the waiting room. "Is she okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah, she's going to be fine. Turns out, it was just a scratch, but still…" Elena shook her head, refusing to even think about it.

"Did she remember what happened?"

"No, nothing. It's all part of Katherine's mind compulsion." Elena told him.

"Why would Katherine hurt Aunt Jenna?" Jeremy asked.

"Because she's trying to send a message, that she could get to anybody." She said. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, come here." Jeremy put his arms around her. "It's gonna be okay."

"No, it's not." Elena pointed out. "All our human friends, they're in danger."

"Hey, we can protect them." Jeremy told her. "And somehow, we're going to make her pay for this."

Stefan was in his room when Elena entered. She'd called earlier and told him what Katherine had done to her aunt. "I'm sorry." He told her when she walked in.

"I'm the one who should apologize." Elena said. "For what I'm about to do. I can't believe we thought sneaking around was going to work, that we weren't going to get caught."

"I know, but our relationship's been risky from the beginning." He pointed out. He saw her frowning.

"And now, Jenna's at the hospital and for all we know, you could be next, or Bonnie… or Matt!" Elena hadn't realized her voice was rising until she said it. "And it's all because of us."

All around her, she could feel Stefan's guilt and sadness, which were probably amplified because she felt the same way. _Please, don't say it. _He thought. _You know I feel about you. _She could actually hear his desperation, which made her heart break even more.

_I have to. I don't want to do this, but our friends are in trouble. This is the only way. I'm sorry._ Then she spoke aloud. "Stefan, I love you so much and I know you love me the same way, but we can't do this anymore."

"I know. Guess I'll see you around?" He asked her. She knew he was heartbroken. _Stupid blood bond. _She thought to herself as she started crying again. She kissed him one last time, then started to leave. She couldn't even bring herself to look at Stefan on the way out.

"Elena, wait." She saw Damon enter the hall as she headed for the door. "It's my fault. Katherine called and I pissed her off."

"It doesn't matter, Damon." Elena said. "Cause we're over. Katherine won."

"Hold on a second, I went over some of my research on blood bonds earlier." He told her.

"And?" She asked, hoping it'd provide an explanation as to why she and Stefan were still bonded.

"It turns out, that while it's rare, it can sometimes occur between a vampire and a human if…" He seemed to hesitate.

"If what?" She asked.

"If the vampire and human are in love with each other." Damon finished. "It has to be real on both sides for a blood bond to form, which is why it doesn't affect all vampires." Elena seemed shocked by this news. Then, slowly and silently, she walked out the door and out of Stefan's life. _For now, at least._ She thought to herself as she headed home.


	44. Masquerade Part I

Stefan had come back from his walk when he saw Caroline sitting in the living room. Damon was sitting next to her, trying to calm her down.

"What happened?" He asked.

"It's okay, you can tell him." Damon told her gently.

"I saw Katherine today." Caroline said.

"Where?"

"At the Grill." Caroline said. "I stopped by to meet the girls, then I ran into Matt. I was still dealing with some issues, so I ran into the bathroom the second he turned his back. That's when I ran into her. As usual, she tried to pose as Elena, but I knew she was at home taking care of her Aunt."

"What did she want?" Stefan asked, sitting down in the chair across from them.

"She wanted me to be her messenger girl." Caroline told them, obviously still shaken from her run in with her. "She's still after the moonstone and she's basically threatening to go on a murder spree."

"What were her exact words?" Stefan asked.

"That she'll rip this town apart until it rains blood."

"And tonight's masquerade ball will be perfect for her to start unless we do give it to her." Damon pointed out.

"It's obviously a set-up. She wants to do this in public."

"Good thing Lockwood left town then."

"So, what are we going to do?" Caroline asked. "Can't we just give her the moonstone so she'll leave?"

"No. Katherine has become too dangerous." Damon told her. "We can't let her get the moonstone. I'm going to the masquerade and I'll put her down myself if I have to."

"You can't go after her alone." Stefan said. "You're going to need back-up."

"Not this time, brother. This is a solo mission."

"Which will be for nothing if she decides to kill you." Stefan pointed out. "If you're going to take on Katherine, not only do you need a plan, but you're going to need help. It'll take more than just the two of us to make it work." They looked at each other.

Meanwhile, Elena and Jeremy were supporting Jenna. Matt was helping them get her inside. "Easy. Grab the door Jer." Matt told him.

"Hey, stop fussing, I'm fine." Jenna said. And she was. Luckily, the knife had only left a scratch mark and nothing more. Elena was relieved, but still worried.

"You should take it easy." She told her.

"Elena's right." Jeremy said. "While it should heal in a few days, it's probably going to be really sore."

"I don't really understand how it happened." Jenna said. "How could I have cut myself there?"

"Maybe it fell facing that way." Elena said. She felt like an idiot just saying it. Even she didn't believe what she was saying.

"Hey, it happens. First day at the Grill I cut my palm doing the dishes." Matt told her aunt.

They set Jenna down on the couch. "You want me to talk to her?" Jeremy asked, looking at Elena. She looked at him, then she realized it. She had told him about Katherine getting Jenna off vervain.

"Okay, just make sure she remembers how she got hurt." She whispered to him. He nodded. Matt and Elena went into the kitchen.

"I have to ask, is that Grill story true or were you just trying to make her feel better?" Elena asked him.

"No, actually, that really happened." Matt told her. "Good thing Vic kept that first aid kit at the house."

"Yeah, how is she these days? I haven't seen her much." Elena said.

"She's been busy applying to schools, getting her grades up." Matt told her. "She still goes to some of these events, though not as much as before."

"Yeah, what do you think's going to happen with that?" Elena asked.

"She said she was thinking of going to community college." Matt said. "Figure out what she wants to do with her life."

"Yeah, I get it." Elena said. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do, either. In that moment, she wished she could be human again, that she would be able to have a normal life.

"Hey." Jeremy's voice snapped her back to the present. "Jenna's doing fine, but could someone keep an eye on…"

"Got it." Matt said. He walked out of the room.

"So, what are we going to do?" Jeremy asked her.

"Did everything go okay?" Elena asked, avoiding the subject.

"Yes. So what are we going to do about Katherine?" Jeremy asked. She sighed, knowing he would ask that. The problem was, what could they do about Katherine? She'd hurt her family just because she didn't listen to her, so who knew what she would try if they went after her?

"We're not going to do anything." Elena told him. Jeremy was surprised.

"She tried to kill Jenna. We can't let her get away with that." Jeremy pointed out.

"Hey, if it keeps this family safe, we can." Elena told him. He looked at her. At first he thought his sister had just given up, but he could see she was scared for what was left of their family. He felt the same way, knowing this was dangerous. But still…

"What if she tries something else?" Jeremy asked.

"She won't." Elena said. Even though she didn't know if that was true, she decided to go with it for now. "Katherine hurt Jenna because I didn't do what she said. Stefan and I are over now, so she wins."

"I know you want to protect them, but even for you, this is going too far." Jeremy pointed out.

"Hey, I don't like it any better than you do, Jer." Elena said. "But there's no other way to protect them right now." She started to head into the living room. "Did you make sure that she…"

"Told her never to take it off and slipped it onto her wrist." Jeremy told her. Elena walked into the living room to help Jenna. As soon as she was out of the kitchen, Jeremy rushed out the back door. If his sister wasn't going to try to stop Katherine, he was going to have to.

His phone started ringing. "Yeah?"

"Can you and your sister make it over here?"

"She's…" He hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. "I'm sorry, Stef. Elena's completely given up."

"I was afraid of that. How's your aunt doing?"

"It was just a scratch, thankfully." Jeremy said. "I'm on my way over right now."

At the Boarding House, the others had started to show up. Damon and Alaric were talking over ideas, while Caroline answered the door. Bonnie had just arrived. "Hey, come on in."

"I got Stefan's message." Bonnie said. She was carrying her grimoire with her.

"Hey, you brought the grimoire, thank you." Bonnie looked around, noticing the weapons on the table.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"We're gonna kill Katherine." Jeremy said, entering the house behind her. She hadn't even heard him coming behind her.

"I can explain." Stefan told her.

"Please."

"We're gonna kill Katherine." Stefan said. They led her into the living room, where Alaric was explaining how one of the weapons worked.

"This works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here." He told the group. "I have two of these in a different size. For you I recommend this. It feats nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready."

"You always this prepared?" Jeremy asked, looking at the weapons table.

"What did you expect? He's a vampire hunter, remember?" Damon pointed out.

In the hallway, Bonnie was talking alone with Stefan. "I know you love Elena, but this plan is too risky. Too many people could get hurt." Bonnie told him.

"This isn't just about Elena anymore." Stefan explained. "What Katherine did to Jenna crossed the line. She has to be stopped."

"I don't know, Stefan."

"If I've learned one thing, it's that there's a lot of risk with trying something in public. If there was a way we could separate her from the crowd…"

"Maybe there's something I can do." Bonnie said. "A spell that could trap her, kind of like the tomb spell."

"That's a really good idea." Stefan said. "I know you don't like this, but you think you can help us?"

"I'll do it, but only because she's pushed my friends around for too long." She told him.

Back at home, Elena was talking with Matt. "You're free to stay if you want. Alaric's coming over. It's gonna be pizza and bad TV."

"I'd love to but I'm going to the masquerade party at the Lockwoods, aren't you?" Matt asked her.

"No. I don't want to leave Jenna here alone." Elena said, glancing back toward the living room. "Not to mention with the way things are with me and Stefan."

"I should go, there's something I need to take care of before the party." Matt said.

"Have fun." Elena said.

"Yeah. Me and a suit."

"You look good in a suit." Elena pointed out. She started to walk away.

"Hey," She turned around at the sound of Matt's voice. "You and Stefan will work it out, I'm sure of it."

"I don't know, Matt. There's so much about us that doesn't work." Elena told him. It was something she worried about more than any enemies they had. She knew she'd never be able to turn him and there wasn't any way to become human that she knew of. Even if Katherine left them alone, how long would they be together before figuring out they'd need to move on?

"Elena." Matt's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "No matter what's going on with you two, I'm always on your side." She held him close. Right now, he was the closest friend she had.

"Thanks, Matt."

At the Boarding House, everyone had gathered in the living room. "Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Alaric asked.

"No, I need you to stay with Elena." Stefan told him. "I don't want her to know about this."

"Okay. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my side." Alaric said.

"Alright, if anyone wants to back out, I'll understand." Stefan told the others. Personally, he hoped no one would drop out of the plan, but he also knew if they weren't comfortable with it, they had a bigger chance of letting Katherine escape.

Damon apparently thought the same thing. "Yeah, speak now, cause I don't want anything going wrong if someone suddenly gets a panic attack." He turned to Caroline.

"I won't." Caroline said. "She killed me. As long as there aren't any werewolves involved."

"Mason's gone, he got out of here a couple days ago." He told them.

"Tyler's still human." Jeremy added. "As long as he doesn't kill anyone, he won't change into one."

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked. Everyone turned to her, nervous that she might back out.

"I'm in." She told them. "As long as no one gets hurt."

"Except for Katherine." Damon said. "Tonight, we end things with her."

At the Lockwood's place, the group had already spread out in the house. They had all dressed up for the Masquerade Ball. Damon and Stefan were outside in the backyard, looking for Katherine. They knew Elena would be at home, so there'd be no confusing them.

"Do you see her?" Damon asked.

"No." Stefan turned to him. "Are you sure you can do this?"

"Of course I can, she's a threat to the town, to our friends." He told him.

"Right, are you sure that's the only reason?" Stefan asked.

"I know when to put my job first, brother. That's the important thing." Damon said. He didn't want him to know that deep down, he was having doubts about Katherine. He knew he couldn't back down, though. Some things were stronger than his mixed feelings.

"Okay, just making sure."

Inside, Jeremy and Bonnie headed upstairs. He opened the door to an empty room that he'd passed by when he'd visited before. "I thought this room could work."

"It's perfect." Bonnie said. Jeremy picked up a stake and hid it under the sofa. He noticed Bonnie pulling out her spell book. She opened it to the page where she would be doing the spell.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"It's why I brought the grimoire." Bonnie said. Jeremy put the bag he'd brought with him in the closet. He noticed all the writing on the pages.

"Can you do all the spells that are in there?" Jeremy asked her. He'd known for a while that she was a witch, but this was the first time he'd seen her so focused.

"It takes practice." Bonnie said. "I've only practiced small spells, the ones that only do good. I don't want to know too much about this stuff. It's not exactly fun for me."

"True, but you have to admit it's cool that you're a witch." Jeremy pointed out. And he meant it. He had always been impressed by her abilities. He was there when she'd prevented the fire from burning him in his father's old basement.

"It's not cool at all." Bonnie told him. She was glaring at him. "Did your family's journal tell you what happened to Emily, my ancestor? Or what happened to my Grams?" He did know. He'd read about what happened to Emily in the journals and pretty much everyone knew about what happened to Sheila after the tomb incident.

"It doesn't end well for people like me." Bonnie said, turning to her spell book.

"If you feel that way, why do you keep helping us?" Jeremy asked her sympathetically, sitting next to her.

"Because I don't want anyone else getting hurt." Bonnie explained. "And I don't know how to stay out of it." She added. She turned to him. "You should probably stand outside the door. If this plan's going to work, I don't want to trap you here." Jeremy nodded and headed out of the room.

At home, Elena was sitting with Jenna. "I feel like an invalid." Jenna said.

"That's because you are invalid. At least, temporarily." Elena pointed out. "Where's Jeremy?"

"He already left for the Lockwood party." Jenna told her.

"He went to that?" Elena asked, surprised. Then again, she hadn't seen Jeremy since that afternoon.

"Yeah, I'm glad. He needs to have more fun." Jenna pointed out.

"I'm gonna get some napkins." Elena said. She went into the kitchen and found Alaric. "Hey, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't heard from anyone all day. It's like everyone's been avoiding me." Elena said. "And now Jeremy's at the party? He hates stuff like that."

"I don't know what to tell you, Elena." Alaric said.

"So then it'll be okay if I just head down, try to meet up with everyone." Elena said.

"Wait." Alaric grabbed her arm.

"What are you hiding, Ric?" She asked. She knew she was starting to get angry and was close to vamping out.

"Stefan asked me to keep an eye on you, in case Katherine showed up while he was at the party." Alaric told her.

"Wait, he's at the party, too?" Elena asked. "He'd never go to the party for himself." She knew something was up, first her brother, and now Stefan? She had to figure out what was going on.

"Just let this one go, okay, Elena?" Alaric asked. Elena realized she'd have to sneak out later, when they went to bed.

Back at the Lockwood's, Bonnie and Jeremy were headed downstairs. " We need to let Stefan and Damon know the room's ready." Bonnie was saying. She stopped suddenly. "Do you feel that?"

"Are you cold or something?" Jeremy asked her. He figured it was probably one of her witch senses, but he didn't want to press the issue since she made it clear she wasn't into it, so he'd asked her the first thing he could think of.

"Uh, no." Bonnie said. He watched as she walked away. She came back a few minutes later.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"I just got a weird vibe. Let's find Damon." Bonnie said. He nodded and they headed outside to find him.

Stefan was looking around the dance floor outside. He thought he'd seen Katherine in the distance, but he couldn't tell if it was her. Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around and saw Katherine. By now, it shouldn't have surprised him, but somehow, it still did every time a vampire came up behind him.

"You've got to stop doing that." He told her.

"Fine, I'll stop sneaking up on you on one condition." She said.

"And what's that?" Stefan asked.

"You dance with me." Katherine said, smiling. He had no idea if she was serious or not.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Honestly? No." Katherine said. He knew when she used _that_ tone she was being serious. He reluctantly led her out to the dance floor. "It's really nice out tonight, isn't it?"

"Can we please not make small talk?" Stefan asked her. He really wasn't in the mood for any of her mind games.

"How's Jenna doing?" Katherine asked, changing the subject. "I didn't think she'd survive, but I suppose it's lucky she did. I don't like taking lives, but sometimes it's necessary now that I'm...you know."

"If you hurt anyone else…"

"I don't plan on hurting anyone." Katherine explained. "Unless you don't hand over the moonstone."

"Here's the thing, I don't have it with me." Stefan told her. This was part of their plan. "But I have an idea of where it might be. How about you help me look for it?"

"I have better idea. Why don't you try to find it and I'll try not to kill anyone."

"It doesn't work like that, Katherine."

"I can't believe I was ever attracted to you." She told him. One of the girls ran over to them.

"Hey, have either of you seen Matt?" She asked. "Elena, you look beautiful."

"Thank you." Katherine said. "I love your necklace."

"Thanks."

"Hang on, it's twisted." Katherine said. "Let me help." She walked behind her. Unsurprisingly, she snapped her neck from behind and threw her into Stefan's arms. "See you later."

Stefan held onto the girl and called Damon and Caroline for help, then walked off the dance floor, holding the girl close as they ran over.


	45. Masquerade Part II

The brothers were in another room of the house. "Well, Care's gotten rid of her." Stefan said.

"She might be new at this, but she knows when to get involved." Damon said. He was a little impressed with Caroline taking charge of the situation.

"This is exactly what I was afraid would happen." Stefan told him.

"Things like this happen sometimes. It's not always possible to save everyone, you know." He pointed out. Stefan looked at him. He knew he was right, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.

Damon noticed he seemed unsure about going through with it. "Hey, listen." He put his hand on his shoulder. "She's done enough damage to this group. We can do this, bro. I've got your back." Stefan still seemed hesitant, but he nodded, realizing they had to move in before someone else got hurt.

Outside, Bonnie and Jeremy were sitting at a table. "So, can you use magic for every day things, too? Like homework?"

"I wish." Bonnie said. "I can only use my powers to call on the elements, knock out vampires, mostly self-defense stuff."

"That's a bummer. If it were possible, I'd learn a spell to change the color of my wardrobe or something like that."

"Well, I did try to change my hair color with magic once. Didn't work." Bonnie told him.

"Well, it looks nice." Jeremy said. Bonnie blushed, not sure how to react. "Hey, do you want to dance while we wait?"

"No!" Bonnie said. She noticed how nervous she sounded, so she tried to correct herself. "I mean, no thank you."

Jeremy noticed her reaction though. It was as though she was afraid of him or something. He ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't meant to make her nervous. He knew they were lucky to have her on their side, but he didn't see her as just a witch. He saw her as a friend and he wasn't going to force her into anything.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed. He saw the message indicating that it was his turn. "Well, looks like I'm up. Could you follow in case…"

"No problem, I'll be nearby." Bonnie said. Jeremy got up to go and started to leave. "Wait!" He turned around and saw Bonnie stand up. "You forgot this." She was holding his mask.

"Oh, right." Jeremy said. "Thanks." He took it from her gently, their hands briefly touching. He felt a shock as it happened. Then he turned and walked away, wondering what that was all about.

He found Katherine talking with someone. He knew she was pretending to be Elena, so he figured he'd play along with it. "Elena." He turned to the woman. "Hey sorry, could I talk to my sister?" The woman looked suspicious, but she left them anyway.

"What is it, Jeremy?" Katherine asked.

"I have a message from Stefan."

"Oh?"

"He and Damon want you to meet them at the edge of the lake by the woods. They brought the moonstone." He said. That was the cover they'd agreed on.

"And why are you their little messenger?" Katherine asked.

"Because they know I'm not afraid of you and could probably take you in a fight if I had to." Jeremy pointed out.

"Really? Cause you're about as old as I am when it comes to this vampire thing." Katherine said. Surprisingly, she had a point there. She left. Jeremy was texting Damon, when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bushes.

"What the hell is going on?" Elena asked him. He looked surprised to see her and knew she'd snuck out of the house. He texted Caroline, then turned back to her.

"Okay, don't be mad, but we're planning to take out Katherine here tonight." Jeremy said.

"What?"

Inside, Caroline had just gotten Jeremy's message and was headed into the hallway, when Katherine held her against the wall. "What are Stefan and Damon up to?" She asked her.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked her.

"I've got Jeremy Gilbert luring me into the lake. What's going on?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know!" Caroline said.

"Don't lie to me, Caroline. They're up to something, what is it?"

"Okay, they're trying to kill you." Caroline told her. To her relief, Katherine let go of her.

"I wouldn't have guessed. Where is the moonstone?"

"Bonnie has it."

"And where is Bonnie right now?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know." She said. Katherine picked her up and started chocking her again. "Okay. She's upstairs, she's upstairs!"

"Lead the way." Katherine said when she let go of Caroline.

Outside, Jeremy and Bonnie had finished explaining everything to Elena. She had calmed down and was less angry than before, now she was more worried for the others. "So you guys are trying to kill her here?" Elena asked.

"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it." Jeremy told her.

"Are you all crazy?" Elena asked. "You guys know how smart she is, you're going to get yourselves killed."

"We know what we are doing, Elena." Bonnie said, trying to reassure her.

"How am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of me?" Elena asked. "Are you forgetting what happened to Jenna?"

"Of course not, that's why we're doing this!" Jeremy told her. "It's not just you anymore, Elena. She's messed with all of us, she has to be stopped."

Inside, Stefan was hiding in the room. He could hear footsteps coming up the steps and Caroline screaming. "Which room is it?" He heard Katherine ask.

"It's that one." Caroline said. Stefan ducked behind the bookshelf so Katherine wouldn't see him when she entered the room.

"Where is she?" Katherine asked, looking around. Stefan heard Caroline laughing.

"I did it. I really didn't think that I'll be able to fool you but I did it." He heard Katherine run to the door. He glanced from his hiding place and saw that she couldn't leave.

"What the?" Then she seemed to figure it out. "Stefan?" He appeared behind her.

"Hello Katherine." He signaled for Caroline to leave.

"Goodbye Katherine." She said, smiling. She turned and left.

"You don't really think that you can kill me with that alone now, do you?" Katherine asked him.

"No." Stefan said. The closet door behind her opened. "But he can." Damon moved out of the closet and shot her with a weapon, hitting her in the back.

Outside, Elena gasped. Jeremy saw that her back was bleeding and frowned. "What is happening?" Elena asked. Bonnie noticed a spot of blood appearing on her arm and figured it out.

"Elena, do you feel anything?"

"It felt as though someone staked me in the arm." Elena told her.

"Katherine." Bonnie realized. "Jeremy, she's linked to Katherine!"

"I'll tell them. I'll get there faster." Jeremy told her. "Be back soon." He rushed off.

Meanwhile, Stefan and Damon were fighting Katherine. At one point, Damon had her pinned down, but she'd managed to grab his arm and throw the stake out of his hands. It'd gone flying across the room and out the window. Stefan tried to restrain her, but she was too strong. He managed to trip her afterward. She lost her balance and fell to the floor. Damon was about to stake her.

"STOP!" They turned and saw Jeremy outside the doorway. "You're hurting Elena. They're linked together. Everything you're doing to her is effecting my sister." Damon dropped the stake. Stefan took one look at Jeremy and knew he was telling the truth. He could feel Elena's fear through their bond.

"It's true. They're linked together." Stefan said.

"Did you really think you were the only ones with a witch on your side?" Katherine asked, getting up. "You'd be wrong. Somehow, I have a feeling my witch is stronger than yours."

Stefan turned to tell Jeremy to leave, but he was already gone. "Well, that was a bust." Damon said.

Outside, Elena and Bonnie were still together. Elena was close to panicking and Bonnie knew it. Her injuries were starting to heal, but there were still bloodstains on her clothes. "What are we going to do?" She asked.

"I don't know." Bonnie told her. "I have no idea how to break the spell." Elena rolled up the sleeve on her arm to see that she was healing slower than usual. Bonnie noticed and knew it wasn't a good sign.

"Take my wrist." Bonnie said.

"No way." Elena said.

"You need to heal."

"Bon, I didn't tell you my secret just to turn you into a blood donor." Elena pointed out.

"Hey, I want to do this." Bonnie told her. "It's why I ended up involved in this plan to begin with. It's fine, Elena." She held her wrist out to her. Elena hesitated, but she accepted it.

By the time Jeremy got back, Elena had dropped Bonnie's wrist and checked her arm again. It was completely healed. "Are you okay?" Jeremy asked her.

"Yeah." Elena turned to Bonnie. "Thank you." She turned back to Jeremy. "How are they doing up there?"

"Well, Katherine's stuck in there and I'm guessing their keeping an eye on her." Jeremy said. "Since neither of them have come down yet." He turned to Bonnie. "Katherine got a witch to link Elena to her."

"That girl…" Bonnie said, as though she'd just realized something. "Stay with Elena."

"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked as she started to run off.

"There's another witch here, I'm gonna find her!" Bonnie told him. Elena sat down behind the bushes. Jeremy joined her.

"You feeling okay?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, just a little shaken by this whole incident." Elena said. "But you were right, Jer. We need to stop her before she hurts anyone else we love."

"Now that's the Elena I know and love." Jeremy said. He took his jacket off and handed it to her. "Here, it should help cover the bloodstains on your clothes." Elena smiled and put it on.

Upstairs, the guys were still with Katherine. Sure, they could've left her alone in there, but what were the chances she wouldn't trick someone into the room to help her? So they stayed in the room to make sure she wouldn't try anything.

"This is just like old times." Katherine said.

"Speak for yourself. You're the one who cheated on my brother." Damon pointed out.

"Except you were the one she cheated with." Stefan said, pointing out the facts.

"I didn't tell you that so you'd hold it against me."

"As entertaining as this is," Katherine interrupted. "Where's the moonstone?" That snapped them out of their argument.

"What do you want with it, anyway?" Stefan asked her.

"You really think I'd tell _you_?" She pointed out.

"If we could stake you right now, you know we would." Damon said.

"But you won't because you care too much about your little vampire friends." Katherine said. "You don't think I can't see right through you?"

"Once the spell between you two lifts, don't think I won't hesitate to kill you."

"You know what I don't get?" Stefan said. "Why recruit Mason to help? If the moonstone can break a curse that would help werewolves destroy vampires, why would you want to help them?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm tired of the vampire thing." Katherine told him. Obviously she was lying. From their previous encounters, they knew she loved being a vampire.

"Even if we believed that, you know that's suicide, right?" Damon pointed out.

"Well, he isn't the only werewolf around." Katherine said. That's how Stefan figured it out.

"When George Lockwood helped you escape, you gave him the moonstone, didn't you?" Stefan said.

"You catch on fast." Katherine said, impressed. "The plan would've worked, though, if people hadn't found out I wasn't in the tomb." She turned to Damon. "Thanks for that."

"In my defense, I thought you were either being tortured or dead." Damon pointed out. "You have any idea how I felt after that? I thought I'd never see you again, and the second you come back, you're the bad guy."

Katherine seemed surprised by his words. Even Stefan looked surprised, even though he knew how he'd felt about her.

"So, why do you need the moonstone back?"

"Does it matter?" Katherine asked. "The past is over."

"Why'd you even have it on you?" Stefan asked her. He quickly figured it out on his own though. "You stole it. But why? Who were you running from, Katherine?"

"You're wasting your time, bro. She's not going to answer our questions." Damon said.

Suddenly, a woman showed up in the doorway. "Katherine, the spell in this room has been broken, you're free to leave." She said. She was holding the moonstone.

"Good, I was getting bored." Katherine said.

"When I hand this over my debt to you is over. I owe you nothing." She told Katherine.

"Done." The vampire said.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Damon said. The woman gave her the moonstone. As soon as Katherine touched the stone, she began to sufficate.

"You should have told me another witch was involved. She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that." The woman told her.

"The link." Stefan said.

"It's okay, Elena's fine." The woman told them. "I broke the linking spell and Bonnie's with her. I apologize for my involvement. Should've known this two-timing bitch would trick me into harming my own family."

"You're a Bennett?" Damon asked.

"Distant, but yeah." She told him. "I'll leave now." She walked out of the room, leaving them and an unconscious Katherine on the floor.

Outside the mansion, Jeremy found Bonnie. "Hey. I'm going to head home. Do you need a ride?" He noticed her expression. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I will be." Bonnie admitted. "Anyway, when did you get your license?"

"A few weeks ago." Jeremy said. "Besides, it's just a car ride."

"I guess that'd be nice." Bonnie said. The two of them left together.

Outside, Elena was near the water fountain when she felt Stefan come up behind her. She turned around, smiling. She was still wearing Jeremy's jacket. "I'm okay." She told him. "I heal fast. Too bad it can't remove the stains from my clothes, though."

"I know, but I'm still worried about you."

"I know, Stefan." Elena said. "I heard about Katherine. Is she really gone?"

"Well, she's weak, but hopefully she'll leave us alone from now on." Stefan said. Elena smiled, but it never reached her eyes. He could feel she was slightly sad about something. "This doesn't change anything between us, does it?"

"Look, I love you, Stefan, but right now, I need to know that my family's going to be safe."

"I understand." Stefan told her. Elena knew he was a little upset about it, but she could also feel that he did understand and how much he loved her.

_I'll see you tomorrow. _She thought, knowing he'd hear her. Then, she started walking toward the parking lot.

In the tomb, Damon was waiting as Katherine woke up. She looked confused when she couldn't leave. "Hello Katherine."

"Where am I?" She asked.

"Where you should have been all along. I thought you'd learn your lesson by now, messing with a Bennett witch."

"You should have killed me."

"I know I should have. Jeremy talked me out of it." Damon said. "Figured this was a better alternative." He moved to close the door.

"Damon." He stopped when he heard her speak. "Elena's in danger."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Damon asked.

"I know you have no reason to trust me." Katherine said. "But I haven't killed her for a reason, there's someone after her."

Damon noticed that Katherine looked genuinely scared. He still wasn't sure what to believe, though. "If you are telling the truth, then know that I would never, ever let anything happen to her. We'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe." He closed the door on her, thinking about what she said, still unsure of what to make of it.

In the parking lot, Elena headed toward her car. "I'm at my car. Okay, I'll see you at home." She hung up and turned around. Someone in a mask tried to grab her, but she kicked him back, hard. While he was on the ground, she turned and tried to open the door to her car. That was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out.


	46. Kidnapped

The next morning, Jeremy noticed that Elena was taking a long time getting ready. He knocked on her bedroom door. "Elena?" When he didn't hear her answer, he went into her room. It was empty. She'd said on the phone she was coming straight there. Realizing something was wrong, he left the house immediately.

At Caroline's, Damon was talking with her about last night. Apparently, Tyler's curse got triggered. "So Sarah attacks Tyler and he pushed her away and she tripped and she fell and she hit her head." Caroline explained.

"Does Matt remember anything?" He asked her, concerned.

"Hmm, he thinks he blacked out but I think they were both compelled by Katherine. That's why I covered for Tyler and said it was an accident." Caroline said.

"That's what I don't get. Why'd you cover for him?"

"Well, if he gets blamed for her death, it opens up a lot of questions that he can't answer. Besides, you think it's a good idea for him to tell his mom he's a werewolf?" Caroline asked. "I mean, I can't even tell my own mom the truth about me."

"Okay, point taken."

"Besides, that werewolf road leads straight to Vampire Boulevard! I thought I was thinking fast on my feet."

"Speaking of your mom, where is she?" Damon asked.

"Leading the search party for Aimee Bradley. They haven't found her body yet." Caroline said.

"Where did you leave her anyway?"

"I dragged her into the woods nearby. It was all I could think of." Caroline told him. "So, does this mean Tyler can turn into a wolf now?"

"Only on a full moon." Damon told her. "but now he has strength and who knows what else. I wonder how much Mason told him."

"Well, I didn't tell him anything." Caroline said. "In fact, he seemed really scared about it and I feel kinda bad for him."

"I know you guys are classmates and all, but remember a werewolf bite can kill a vampire. Better be careful around him."

"Got it." Caroline said. She glanced at the time. "And now I'm late for school." She walked out of the room.

Jeremy found Stefan by the lockers at school. "Stef?"

"Hey, Jeremy."

"Please tell me that Elena was with you last night." Jeremy said.

Stefan frowned. "No, last I talked to her, she said she was headed home."

"Well, she wasn't there this morning. Her bed hadn't been slept in." Jeremy told him. "Also, Mrs. Lockwood called, her car's still in the driveway."

"So if she never came home and she wasn't with any of us, where could she be?" Stefan wondered. They looked at each other, realizing something must've happened to her.

When Elena woke up, she found herself in a room she didn't recognize. She felt something heavy around her shoulders and noticed she was still wearing the jacket Jeremy had given her the other night. She felt that she wasn't alone and turned around. She saw a guy standing there.

She knew he had to be a vampire. "What do you want?" She asked him.

"Quiet." He moved closer to her, but she pushed him away with her strength.

"Trevor!" She heard a woman's voice call. She turned and saw a girl with short, brunette hair and green eyes. "What were you thinking?"

"How was I supposed to know she turned?" The guy-Trevor, Elena reminded herself,-told her. The girl walked over to Elena.

"What do you want?" Elena asked her.

"You really do look like her."

"I'm not Katherine."

"I know that." Elena hadn't been expecting that answer.

"Then why did you…" She began to ask why they kidnapped her, when the girl cut her off.

"I'll explain later." The girl said. "I have other things to take care of at the moment." She walked out of the room, leaving Elena sitting on the couch.

At the school, Stefan was outside when Damon finally pulled up. "About time you got here."

"Give it a rest. I know you like her, but why would someone kidnap a vampire?"

"I have no idea." Stefan said. "But I hope she's okay." He could sense Elena was scared, though. He wanted to try to reach her, but he had no idea how far she was or if their telepathy could reach over far distances.

"Well, it's not Katherine." Damon told him. "Bonnie and I locked her in the tomb last night." He thought about what Katherine had told him about Elena being in danger. "I thought she was lying about it."

"About what?" Stefan asked him.

"She said Elena was in danger before I shut the door."

"And you didn't think it was important to tell the rest of us?"

"It's Katherine! She always lies. How was I supposed to know she was telling the truth for once?" Damon pointed out. Stefan sighed.

"Maybe we should talk to her. She might know who took Elena."

"No way. Look, I know I messed up here, but how do we know that we can trust her?"

"How else are we supposed to find her?" Stefan pointed out. Then he noticed the truth ring on his hand, the one Elena had given to him. He headed back into the school.

Elena had been sitting in the room for what felt like hours. She got up and heard Trevor talking with the girl. "How is she?"

"Well, she was resting last time I checked. She sure punches hard, though. Did you call him?"

"No, I called one of his contacts. You know how this works."

"Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?"

"they say he got it." The girl told him. Elena walked out of the room and saw them talking.

"So now what?"

"So that's it Trevor. He either got it or he didn't. We just have to wait."

"Look, it's not too late. We can leave it here. We don't have to go through with this." Trevor said.

"I'm sick of running!"

"It's better than dying, Rose."

"Elijah's old school. If he accepts our deal, we're free." At that moment, she turned around and saw Elena.

"There's nothing around here from miles. If you think you're getting out of this house, you're tragically wrong. Understand?"

"Who's Elijah?" Elena asked.

"Our biggest mistake." Rose told her, barely even looking at her when she passed by.

In the hallway, Stefan was talking with Bonnie. "You want me to track Elena?" She seemed surprised. "I'm not even sure if those spells work on vampires."

"We have to at least try, though." Stefan pointed out.

"I think I have an idea." Bonnie said.

In the classroom, Jeremy met with Bonnie. "So, why do you need me for this spell?"

"You and Elena are blood related. It should make the connection stronger…at least strong enough to tell us where she is." Bonnie explained.

Stefan walked in. "The next class starts in ten minutes, we better hurry."

"Ready?" Bonnie asked. Jeremy nodded. He barely felt her cut his wrist. Bonnie closed her eyes and did the spell. The blood merged and traveled to Elena's location.

"That's where she is." Bonnie said.

"That's three hundred miles outside of town." Jeremy said. He noticed Stefan rubbing his temple, as though he had a headache. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He told him. He glanced back at the map. "I think that's the right location."

"We could try to map it, it'll help us find the area." Bonnie suggested.

"Okay, call me when you find something."

"Whoa, there's no way I'm staying here. That's my sister in trouble, and last I checked, neither of you two could take down one older than a hundred and fifty."

Stefan hesitated. He knew Jeremy was right, that they were going to need their help, but if he got caught in the crossfire, it would hurt her, too.

"Then come on." The group turned and saw Damon in the doorway. "We have a friend to save."

"I'll call you guys." Bonnie told Jeremy. "Whatever I find, I'll make sure you know about it."

"Thanks, Bonnie." Jeremy left with the guys, leaving her in the classroom.

The group had piled into Damon's car and were on their way to find Elena. "Alaric really knows how to handle these weapons." Stefan was looking at a bottle of vervain. "What is that, anyway?"

"I think it's a vervain bomb or grenade." Stefan told him. "Who do you think took her?"

"Someone from Katherine's past." Damon said. "You said she was running from someone. They pick out the wrong girl."

"They're not completely identical, though." Jeremy said from the backseat. "Elena's eyes are slightly lighter and her skin is a little darker than Katherine's."

"Not to mention she gets highlights when the sun's out." The guys looked at Stefan. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah, you did." Damon said.

Just then, Jeremy's phone rang. "Saved by the Bennett witch." He answered the phone.

"Okay, I pulled up the map. I found what looked like an old house." Bonnie told him. "I'm sending it to your phone."

"Thanks, Bonnie."

"I hope she's okay." Bonnie said.

"Hey, she'll be fine." Jeremy tried to reassure her. Suddenly, the line went dead. "Bonnie? Bonnie!"

"What happened?"

"I think she passed out." Jeremy said. "Now I'm really worried."

"She'll be okay, Jeremy." Stefan told him. He hoped she would be, anyway.

In the house, Elena followed Rose into a room. "So, why am I here?" She didn't answer. "It's not like I can go anywhere else." Elena pointed out. "So what do you guys want with me?"

"I personally want nothing, I'm just a delivery service." Rose told her.

"Delivery to whom? Elijah?"

"So you were eavesdropping."

"Who is he? Is he a vampire?"

"He's one of the vampires, the originals."

Elena didn't know what she meant. "Who are the Originals?"

"I take it you don't know much about vampire history." Rose said.

"I've only been a vampire for a year."

"That explains things." Rose said. "Still, you'd think with all the Founders in your town, you'd have learned something."

"Which brings us back to, who are the Originals?" Elena asked.

"Trevor and I've been running from them for the past five years. We're tired, we want it over. We're using you to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess."

"But why me?" Elena asked.

"Because you're descended from the Petrova bloodline. You're the key into breaking the curse." Rose explained.

"You meant the sun and moon curse?" Elena asked, surprised. "I thought the moonstone is what breaks the curse."

"No, the moonstone is what binds the curse. The sacrifice is what breaks it." Rose said.

"What?"

"Well, at least until you turned. Doppelganger blood was required to break it, but there could be another way to end the curse. Either way, you're the key to it." Rose told her. Elena seemed surprised.

"So, can you tell me more about this mess you're in?" She asked. She found herself wanting to help them.

"What do you want to know?" Trevor asked, entering the room.

"Like, what are the Originals, exactly?" Elena asked.

"They're like, the first vampires in existence. Date all the way back to the old world." Trevor explained. "Rose and I pissed them off." Rose cleared her throat. "I pissed them off. Rose had my back for the past few years. They wanted us dead."

"What did you do?"

"He made the same mistake others did. He trusted Katerina Petrova."

"Katherine." Elena realized. _Should've known_. She thought to herself.

"Who else?" Rose said.

"I helped her escape her fate, and we've been running ever since." Trevor explained.

"We're not making that mistake again." Rose said. "But at the same time, we kind of need to keep you alive."

"Okay."

Back in the car, Jeremy was trying to get Bonnie back on the line. "Hello? Bonnie, pick up! Come on!"

"Is she okay?" Stefan asked from the front seat.

"I don't know." Jeremy said. "I think I heard her faint after she texted us the map to that house." He heard a small moan from the other end of the line. "Bonnie?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Bonnie said. "Sorry about that."

"What happened?"

"I'm fine, really." Bonnie told him. "Could you put Stefan on the line? I want to talk to him."

"She wants to talk to you." Jeremy said, handing Stefan his cell phone.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked her.

"Yeah, I've just been doing a lot of magic lately. It kind of drains me sometimes." She said. Unknown to either of them, Jeremy was using his hearing to listen in.

"What do you mean?"

"Magic has limits sometimes. If I use too much of it, it pushes back." Bonnie told him. "I don't want Jeremy to know this. He's one of my closest friends, I don't want him or Elena to worry."

"Don't worry, this will be our secret." Stefan told her. "Promise."

"It's hard dealing with the witch thing alone sometimes."

"Well, you always have us, you know that." Stefan pointed out. "Okay. Jeremy, your turn again." He passed the phone back to him.

"Hey, what happened back there?"

"I was doing a spell." Bonnie said. "Trying to get a message to Elena."

"Did it work?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know." Bonnie said.

Back in the house, Elena sat down on the couch, trying to figure a way out of this mess, when she noticed a note in the corner. She picked it up and opened it. She recognized Bonnie's handwriting. It read:

The guys are on the way. Hang in there.

Elena folded the note and put it in her pocket, relieved to know back up was on the way.

Meanwhile, the guys were still on the road. "We're getting close." Jeremy said, looking at the map on his phone. "There's an access road just past this marker over here."

"Are you sure you're reading that thing right?" Damon asked, making the turn.

"I'm positive. At least it's more reliable than a GPS." Jeremy said.

"He's right." Stefan said. "I can tell that we're headed in the right direction."

"Why? Because of your blood bond?" Damon asked. Stefan looked at him in shock.

"How did you know about that?"

"I saw her feed off you that time those tomb vamps held her hostage. That, and the way you've both been acting around each other. She's been more jumpy than usual."

"Really? We were that obvious?" Stefan asked.

"Pretty much."

Back in the house, Elena was still sitting when Trevor got up. "He's here! This was a mistake!"

"No, I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me." Rose told him.

"No! He wants me dead, Rose!"

"Look, I need your help with this. As much as I want out, I also don't want her to get hurt." Rose said.

"I can't do this. Even if you do manage to talk to him, he'll let you leave but I need to get out of here." Trevor said.

"Hey! What are we?"

"We're family, forever." Just then there was a knock on the door. They all tensed up.

"Please keep an eye on her and neither of you make a sound." Rose said. "I'll deal with this." Elena nodded, not trusting her voice. She heard voices talking from the other room, but couldn't hear what they were saying, so she concentrated. From the way Trevor looked, it seemed he was doing the same thing.

"Katerina Petrova." Rose said.

"I'm listening." An unfamiliar voice replied. Elena knew it had to be Elijah.

"She wasn't destroyed during the ambush that killed her friends." Rose told him.

"Where is she?"

"you don't seem surprised by this."

"When you invited me here, I guessed it had something to do with Katerina. Do you have her new position?"

"No, but I found someone that might know her whereabouts. I have her doppelganger." Rose told him.

"How is that possible?" Rose shrugged. "Katerina didn't have any family."

"Well, I don't know how, but she's here."

"Well, show her to me." At that point, Elena got up and walked out, with Trevor following behind her.

"There's no need. I'm right here." She said. She saw Rose glare at Trevor, but she was more focused on Elijah. He stepped closer to her. She almost took a step back, but she didn't even flinch.

"How do I know you're not her?" That caught Elena off guard. She shot a quick glance at Rose for help. Rose seemed to get the message.

"Maybe you should ask her something personal, something only Katerina would know." She suggested.

Elijah glanced at her, but he must've thought it was a good idea. "Where were you on the night of October 5, 2006?"

"I was fourteen back then. I think I was at movie night with my friends. My parents made me swear to be back before nine." Elena had no idea why she'd mentioned everything, but she figured she was just nervous.

"You're telling the truth." He realized, surprised.

"Why would I have any reason to lie?" Elena asked.

"Very good point." She heard Trevor whisper.

Meanwhile, the guys had parked a far way from the house. "The house should be behind those trees." Jeremy said. "Are you sure you two want to do this?"

"What are you getting at, kid?" Damon asked.

"Look, whoever took her is probably the person Katherine was running from." Stefan said, figuring it out. "And that means they've probably been after her for a while."

"Exactly. We've never faced anyone this strong before." Jeremy said. "So if either of you want to back out, now's your chance."

"I know all the risks, Jer. I've trained for this kind of stuff." Damon told him. They both turned to Stefan.

"If Elena's in trouble, you already know what my answer is." Stefan said.

"Well, let's go, then." Jeremy said. They headed toward the house.

"We should be going." Elena looked at Rose. "One last piece of business and we're done." They both seemed surprised as Elijah walked over to Trevor.

"I've waited so long for this day, Elijah. I'm truly, very sorry."

"Oh no, your apology isn't necessary." He told him.

"Yes, yes it is. You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you." Trevor said.

"Oh yes you are the guilty one and Rose helped you because she was loyal to you and that now I honor. Where was your loyalty?"

"I beg your forgiveness." Trevor said.

"So granted." Elena was horrified by what happened next. Elijah had managed to literally knock Trevor's head off. She covered her eyes with her arm, unable to look at the gruesome scene.

A hand caught her shoulder. Elena almost screamed, when she heard Rose whisper to her. "I heard your friends pull up. Keep him occupied until they get in." Elena turned to look at her, surprised at the help. She noticed she had tears in her eyes.

"Sorry about your friend." Elena told her.

"I'll be okay, somehow…" Rose said, quickly brushing the tears away.

"Well, we should be going." Elijah said, turning to the girls.

"Hang on." Elena said, trying to stall for time. "What about the moonstone?"

"What do you know about the moonstone?" Elijah asked her.

"I know that you need it and I know where it is." Elena said.

"Can you tell me where it is?"

"It'd be easier to show you." Elena said.

"Are you negotiating with me?" He turned to Rose.

"Don't look at me, I don't know anything about the moonstone." She said, putting her hands up in protest.

"I suppose I'll have to do it the hard way, then." Before Elena ask, he looked directly at her. "Tell me where the moonstone is."

Without thinking, she spoke. "In the tomb, under the church ruins." Elena clasped her hand over her mouth, not knowing why she'd said it. Then she remembered the way he'd looked at her.

_He can compel vampires? We are screwed_. She thought.

"What's it doing there?" Elena knew she had no choice but to answer.

"It's with Katherine."

"Interesting." Suddenly, they all heard something. "What is that?"

"I don't know." Rose said.

"Who else is in this house?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know!" Rose said. Elijah caught Elena's arm and they headed into another room.

_Elena, it's us. _She heard Stefan's thoughts and knew she'd be fine. _I'm upstairs. _

_I'll be there, but we need someone to catch these two off-guard. _She thought. As if on cue, an arrow was fired into the hallway, stunning everyone. Elena used the opportunity to speed upstairs. Sure enough, Stefan was waiting for her.

_Are you okay? _He looked really concerned.

_I'm fine._

Meanwhile, Jeremy had Rose downstairs. He motioned for her to be quiet. She nodded, still slightly surprised that he'd found her. Damon was sitting nearby.

Elena was still talking with Stefan when they heard Elijah's voice. "Excuse me. To who may be concern, you're making a great mistake if you think that you can beat me. You can't. Do you hear that?"

_Use this._ Stefan handed Elena a vervain grenade. _But be careful._ She nodded, understanding.

"I repeat, you cannot beat me. So I want the girl, I'm gonna count to 3 or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?" Elena chose that moment to show herself.

"Enough. I'll go with you, but leave my friends out of this." Elena told him. "They were just trying to help me."

He approached her. "What game are you playing with me?"

Elena threw the vervain grenade at him, then jumped back as it exploded, not wanting to burn herself. Elijah got up, to her surprise. Before she could move, Stefan stepped out of hiding and tried to shoot a stake out of the sleeve, but it jammed. Elena ran to his side to help.

"I've got it." He insisted.

"No, you don't. You'll shoot yourself in the foot." Elena pointed out. After a couple seconds of struggling with each other, she ripped it off him and handed him a stake. He ran toward Elijah, but he got flung to the ground instead.

Jeremy rushed out of hiding and staked him from behind. Damon and Rose came upstairs in time to see him fall to the floor. Rose turned to Elena and smiled before heading out the door. Damon and Jeremy got ready to follow her.

"Let her go." Elena told them. "She tried to help me." She heard Stefan groan and rushed down the stairs at vampire speed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. He was pretty strong, though." Stefan said. Elena held him in her arms. Damon and Jeremy watched them, smiling.

A few hours later, the group dropped Elena and Jeremy off at home. "Thanks for everything, guys." Elena said.

"You know we'd do anything to help you guys." Damon pointed out.

"Besides, there's no way we were going to let you be taken from us." Jeremy said..

"What you did was incredibly dangerous, though." Elena said.

"Well, I wasn't going to let you get kidnapped again." Stefan pointed out. They looked at each other for a moment.

"Jenna's probably wondering where we are." Jeremy said. "We better go in."

"I'll call you later." Stefan told Elena. "Good night."

"Good night." Elena kissed him on the cheek before heading inside.

"Elena, you're back!" Bonnie said, hugging her.

"Take it easy, Bon. It's been kind of a rough day." Elena said..

"Sorry." Bonnie let go. "I'm just so glad you're okay."

"We would've never gotten there if you hadn't showed us the location." Jeremy pointed out.

"Speaking of which, I got your note." Elena said.

"What's going on?" The group turned in surprise.

"Vick? What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"Bonnie asked me to come over." Vicki told him. "She told me she crashed here early in the afternoon and I wanted to make sure she was okay. She seemed kind of sick."

"Well, I'm okay now." Bonnie said. "But thanks for staying with me."

"Just trying to help out." Vicki left the house then.

"You guys have to tell me everything." Bonnie said the second she was sure Vicki was gone.

"It's kind of a long story." Elena told her.

"Well, it's been a long day."

"I'll fill you in tomorrow." Jeremy told Bonnie.

"Okay."

Back at the Salvatore's house, the guys were talking in the living room. "Look, about what Rose told Elena about the curse…" Stefan began.

"I know. We'll have to keep her safe." Damon said. Elena had explained everything to the guys on the ride home.

"To be honest, I'm surprised your okay with this."

"Well, she and her brother helped me see things differently. Besides, last I checked, you don't leave your friends for dead." Stefan started to leave the room. "Hey, I'm sorry about the whole Katherine thing."

"That was almost four years ago, Damon." Stefan pointed out.

"Still, I never would've gone out with her if I'd known you were with her."

"Yeah, she always was good at keeping secrets to herself. I'm just glad we're back to being brothers again."

A few hours later, Stefan was in the library. He heard a sound and got up. It took a few seconds for him to realize that someone was knocking at the front door. He picked up a stake, just to be on the safe side.

He headed opened the door to find Rose standing in front of him. "I'm not here to hurt you." She told him.

"Why are you here?" Stefan asked cautiously.

"Your friend Lexi gave me directions, said I could find you here." Rose told him.

"You know Lexi?" Stefan was surprised.

"She let me stay with her for a few months before I got word about Elena." Rose explained. "And now I've lost Trevor. I have nowhere else to run anymore."

"I don't know if I can help you." Stefan said, stepping onto the front porch and closing the door behind him.

"I don't need your help, but you might need mine." Concern crossed her face. "Elijah may be dead but this isn't over. There are other Originals, they'll still come for her. They're doing it for him."

"Who?" Stefan asked. "Who is it they want to bring her to?"

"Klaus." Rose said.

Elena had finished getting ready for bed when she noticed a shape nearby. "Who's there?" She asked.

"It's just me. Sorry if I scared you." Damon told her. She was relieved it was just him, but she was still slightly freaked out.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"When you said that the Originals can somehow compel vampires, I got worried." He told her. "So I came by to drop this off." He held up a bracelet. It was silver and had a single charm hanging off the side.

Elena touched the charm and felt her skin tingle slightly. "A vervain bracelet?"

"In case there are any others out there." Damon told her. He helped her fasten it to her wrist. "The last thing we need is for the other vampires around here to get compelled into helping them."

"Jer and I will call the others tomorrow, let them know what happened." Elena said. "Hopefully Caroline will pick up by then."

"Yeah, I haven't been able to reach her either." He left the room. Elena glanced back down at her bracelet and smiled. At least now they had a slight advantage if any other Originals showed up.


	47. Katherine's Past

The next morning, Elena was waiting outside the Salvatore's house. Stefan had called and told her to meet him before school. After a few minutes, Damon opened the door. "Hey, Elena."

"Is Stefan still here?" Elena asked. "He called. He said it was important."

"Yeah, he's here." She entered the house. Stefan arrived then.

"Hey."

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Elena asked. Just then, she noticed Rose in the hallway. "What are you doing here?"

"She's the only one who can explain." Stefan told her. Elena felt uncertain about this meeting. "Do you trust me?" He asked. Elena nodded, knowing she'd always trust him. She would at least listen to Rose.

The group sat down in the living room. "Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true." Rose told them. "That's the problem with all this vampire crap, but Klaus, I know he's real."

"Who is he?" Elena asked, genuinely lost as to where she was going.

"He's one of the Originals." Damon told her.

"You mean, like Elijah?"

"No. Elijah was the Easter Bunny compared to Klaus." Rose said. "He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."

"Klaus is known to be the oldest, if the journal is anything to go by." Stefan said. Now Elena looked really confused. "It looked like some of our ancestors and family members may have been trying to keep track of the names of vampires or people who'd been turned."

Elena nodded, then turned to Rose. "So you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me? But why? I'm a vampire now, I shouldn't be of any use to him."

"True, but you are still a doppelganger and if he ever finds out about your transformation, you're as good as dead." Rose told her. Elena looked up at her, surprised. Stefan didn't need to be able to feel how scared she was in order to know how she was feeling.

"Okay, Rose…"

"I'm not saying it to scare you." She told them. "I told you, I'm here to help. If I was going to stab you in the back, I would've done it the second you invited me in."

"So, what chance do we stand against this guy?" Damon asked.

"You're not serious." Rose said "He would kill all of us if we tried to go against him."

"Hang on, Elijah's dead, remember?" Stefan pointed out. "No one else knows you exist." He told Elena.

"Not that you know of."

"You're really not helping." Damon told Rose.

"Just telling the truth." She raised her hands defensively.

"Look, we don't even know anyone who's even met him." Stefan pointed out. "We're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction."

"He's real and he doesn't give up." Rose told him. "If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot."

"Then call us crazy." Damon said.

Elena got up. Stefan could sense that she was freaking out inside. "Where are you going?"

"I'm late for school." Elena pointed out.

"Want me to come with you?"

"Thanks, but I need to be alone for a while." Elena left the house.

"That went well, didn't it?" Damon said.

"Again, just stating the facts." Rose told him.

At school, Jeremy noticed Bonnie as she arrived. One of her books fell to the ground and she went to pick it up. He caught up to her and picked it up for her. "Here."

"Thanks." Bonnie said. "So, where's Elena?"

"She's running late." Jeremy told her. "You want to hang out at the Grill later? We can try shooting pool."

"Why?" Bonnie asked him. "I mean, it's not exactly like we're…"

"I just thought it'd be fun." Jeremy said.

"Yeah, I guess." Bonnie said. "Only I'm really bad at pool."

"Have you ever played before?" Jeremy asked.

"Excuse me!" They both looked up and saw a guy near them. "Do you guys know which way is the office?"

"Through the double doors then straight ahead then quick left and then your first right." Jeremy noticed he looked kind of lost. "You must be new here."

"Yeah, I am. It's kind of hard to hide it. My name's Luka."

"I'm Jeremy, this is Bonnie."

"Well, it's nice to meet you guys." Luka said.

"Anyway, Luka. I'm actually heading to that direction. Why you don't follow me? It can get confusing." Jeremy told him.

"Thanks man." Bonnie watched as the guys left. She hoped that everything would work itself out.

Elena was walking through the woods. Caroline followed her. "Tell everyone I wasn't feeling well and I went home instead of school." She told Caroline.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. I'm a terrible liar!" Care pointed out.

"And keep Stefan busy. I don't want him to know what I'm up to." Elena said.

"I'm even worse at duplicity and you know this."

"You managed to keep me occupied when Katherine paid Stefan a visit." Elena pointed out.

"Because she threatened to kill me. Again!" Caroline said. "And Stefan's going to see right through me. I'm not that good an actress!"

"Caroline, as my friend, do you promise or not?" Elena asked. She felt bad for making her do this, but she needed answers and there was only one person she knew that could help.

"You had to break out the girlfriend code." Caroline sighed. "Okay. I promise." They headed toward the ruins under the old church. "Why don't you want Stefan to know?" She asked as they got closer.

"Because he would never be okay with me doing this." Elena told her. They stopped just outside of the door leading to the tomb.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"She's the only one who knows the truth about Klaus." Elena pointed out. "The only one who can tell me how to stop him."

"But you're asking for the truth from someone who's always lying to us." Caroline said.

"I have to do this." Elena told her. "I can't just sit back and wait for something bad to happen, we need to find out more about this." Caroline helped her open the door.

"Katherine?" She turned to Caroline. "I'll be okay." After a few minutes, Katherine appeared. She looked terrible. Her hair was a mess and her skin looked paler than normal.

"Hello, Elena." She said. "Come to watch me fade away?" She noticed Caroline.

"As long as I stay on this side on the door, she can't hurt me." Elena told Caroline. Her blonde best friend seemed hesitant, but she left. She turned to Katherine. "I brought you some things."

"You came to bribe me?" Katherine seemed surprised. "What is it that you want?"

"I want you to tell me about Klaus." Elena said.

"So, you know."

"You're the only one who knows the full story." Elena pointed out. "I brought you this." She pulled out the Petrova book from her bag. "It's your family history. According to this, you were the last remaining person in your family."

"Well, it's not true. I didn't even know you existed until four months ago or even if we're related, but there must be some blood connection if Klaus is after you." Katherine told her.

"Well, that's not important right now." Elena said. "Here," She passed a small glass of blood into the tomb to her. "This should help."

Katherine took the glass and drank the contents. Her skin regained color and she looked normal again, though still slightly weak. "Looks like the past does catch up to us after all." She said. She set the glass on the floor and Elena took it. "It's a long story. I guess it started after I left Mystic Falls the first time."

"Yeah, what happened to your parents?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. The last time I saw them, I was six." Katherine told her. "For as long as I can remember, it's just been me and Emily. After I left, I ended up in some Midwest town, far away from Mystic Falls, I don't remember which one. I had to adjust. After a few months, I caught the eye of Klaus. I was charmed by him until I found out he was a monster and what he wanted from me. Then I ran like hell." She shivered.

"How'd you survive?"

"One of his closest farmhands, I think his name was Trevor, helped provide cover." Katherine told her. "He sent me to a safe house in Wisconsin."

"So, what did Klaus want?" Elena asked.

"The same thing that he wants from you. He wants to break the curse."

"By sacrificing the Petrova doppelganger." Elena finished.

"He wanted to drain every single drop of blood of my body." Katherine told her.

At the school, Stefan ran into Caroline outside. "Hey."

"Hey. I need to talk to you." Caroline said. "Where are you going?"

"Elena went home. I wanted to check in on her." Stefan told her.

"Hang on, I need some advice. I did something really stupid." Caroline said.

"Like what?"

"I told Tyler I'm a vampire." Caroline said. Stefan looked at her, surprised.

"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere more private." He suggested. She nodded.

In the tomb, Elena was still sitting near Katherine. "What does the Petrova blood line have to do with Klaus?" She asked her.

"It's really tedious but, the curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood." Katherine explained. "Witches are crafty with their spells."

"So you ran before he killed you."

"Yeah. Once I got to the safe house, Rose took me in. However, she realized the danger and was going to take me back to Klaus once it was safe for her to." Katherine explained.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"Unlike you and your little friends, she didn't have a daylight charm." Katherine told her. "I had less than ten hours to figure out a way out of that mess."

"But Rose never ended up taking you back to Klaus, did she?"

"No, but not because she had a change of heart." Katherine said. "She was still determined to hand me over. So I took matters into my own hands. Unfortunately, she didn't want to risk Trevor's life, so she healed me. I ran out the back door while she was busy with Trevor and never looked back. Another vampire girl helped me get back here undetected."

"But you've been running from Klaus ever since." Elena pointed out.

"I under estimated his penchant for vengeance, but leaving with a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock."

"But I'm a vampire, too." Elena said. "And Elijah said that my blood was still useful." Katherine didn't say anything for a moment.

"I don't know what he means." She finally said after a moment. "I haven't seen him since I ran away that night. But if he's up to something…"

"I think we're going to have to be more careful." Elena said. "I have a feeling he's not the only one out there."

"What's up?" Katherine asked, noticing her doppelganger's expression.

"Rose and Trevor have been on the run for the past few years. Trevor just got killed." Elena said. Not that she liked Trevor, but she couldn't help but feel bad for Rose. They seemed close.

"I'm surprised he lasted that long." Katherine said. "Still, can't say I was close with him, but he was a good person."

"I'm surprised you even care." Elena said.

"Of course I care. But when you have a psycho vampire after you, you can't let anyone know about it." Katherine told her. Elena blinked, stunned by this revelation. "I was always afraid if I turned it off, I'd forget who I was. I got good at faking it. It was the only way I could survive." She turned around and opened the book Elena had given her.

At the Grill, Stefan and Caroline were sitting together. She was telling him all about her problem with Tyler. "He has the urge to kill, too."

"What else did you say to him?"

"Not much. I was trying to keep the questions to a minimum." Caroline said. "Are you mad?"

"No, but I think you should be even more careful around him." Stefan said. "I know he's our friend, but if Damon or the Gilberts find out about this…"

"You won't tell them, will you?" Caroline asked.

"Of course not." Stefan said. "The guys would kill you."

"How come you're so nice to me?" She asked.

"Because you're my friend, Care. I'll always have your back, no matter how hard it gets."

She smiled. "It's good to have people like you in my life."

"You know, sometimes you remind me of my best friend." Stefan told her. He thought of his last visit with Lexi. Ever since she nearly got taken down on his birthday, they met up every couple weeks to check in with each other.

"Are you talking about that blonde girl I saw you with in the park the other day?" Caroline asked.

Stefan looked at her in surprise. "You were there?"

"I wasn't spying, if that's what you're thinking. I was on my way home from the cleaners." Caroline said.

"Yeah, Lexi and I are best friends. We knew each other from school, then I moved here." He explained. "We meet up every few weeks to catch up."

"Speaking of friends, there's a full moon coming up and I don't know what to do." Caroline said. "Tyler's really freaking out about it."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Stefan told her. "Is there anything we can do to keep him locked up somewhere so he doesn't hurt anyone?"

"I don't know, but I have a few ideas. I might have to work with him on it, though."

"Okay, look, I really have to go now."

"Stefan…" Caroline began.

"Care, I know you're trying to distract me. Hate to break it to you, but you're not _that_ good an actress." Caroline sighed.

"Look, Stef, I can't tell you where Elena is." She said. "I promised her."

"I understand, but I'm really worried about her. We just got her back, remember?"

"I know that, but I wouldn't leave Elena alone unless I thought that she could handle herself." Caroline reassured him. "I'm sorry I can't help you here." She got up and left.

"So how did you end up here after all that time running?" Elena asked Katherine.

"It wasn't my choice. I was near the border of the town when I got jumped by a couple local vampires." Katherine explained. "I tried to fight them, but there were more hiding nearby. When they realized who I was, they dragged me here so that they could report to the Originals. When I escaped, I killed the two who put me in here."

"You came here so you could hand me over to Klaus, though."

"I spent the past three or four years on the run. I figured he might be willing to strike a deal." Katherine said.

"So you got Mason Lockwood to find you the moonstone." Elena said, starting to figure out Katherine's intentions for coming back here. "What else do you need to break the curse?"

"I see you've figured it out."

"I'm guessing there's a reason you triggered Tyler's werewolf curse when Mason ran off." Elena said.

"I told you, witches spells are complicated. So many things always needed for them to work."

"So you do need a werewolf." Elena said.

"They're really hard to find." Katherine shrugged.

"What else?" Elena asked.

"A witch to do the spell. Mine bailed but Bonnie will do just fine."

"Anything else?"

"A vampire."

"Caroline." Elena realized, feeling sick.

"It could've been anyone, really, but there was something about her I liked." Katherine said.

"And you were just going to hand us all over to be killed?" Elena asked.

"It would've worked if you hadn't been turned." Katherine said. "Klaus will probably kill you all regardless of my interference. It doesn't matter if you're a vampire now, you'll be marked for death if he ever finds out."

"What can I do?" Elena asked her, worried about everyone being in danger.

"I don't know. I personally don't trust Elijah, but if he knows something that could prevent this, he could be your best shot."

"Yeah, about that…" Elena began. As she explained what happened, Katherine looked concerned.

"Well, Originals are harder to take down than you think, but chances are he'll probably be angry." She said when Elena finished explaining.

"Is there anyone else we can call for help? Someone who might know something about the Originals?"

"I don't know." Katherine said. She thought for a moment. "Well, I do have one idea, but you're not going to like it."

"What is it?"

"Elena?" Elena turned around in shock. Stefan had shown up.

"Stefan?" She couldn't believe he was here. "Did Caroline…"

"No. She kept your secret. I guessed you'd come here."

"She is the only one who knew the truth." Elena pointed out.

"How do you know she wasn't lying to you?" Stefan asked her.

"I know she wasn't. I've been wearing the truth ring all day and it never vibrated once while we were talking." Elena told him. She held out her hand so he could see she was wearing it.

"Still sitting here." Katherine pointed out. They turned to her. "I know you want to protect her, but there's nothing you can do, Stefan. You don't even know the worst part of the story." She turned away for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"Before I was caught, I went back to find Emily. There was no sign of her anywhere. Then I found a note on the counter, saying that she couldn't protect me anymore and that I had to run. I don't even know if she died from natural causes or if it was Klaus, but…" She sighed. "that's where his men caught me and dragged me to the tomb."

"You never figured it out, did you?"

"No, but I knew it was no coincidence that they were there." Katherine said. "And Emily always put a protective spell around the house, so I knew something was wrong."

"No." Elena looked really worried. Stefan put his arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay, we'll figure something out."

"For her sake, you better." Katherine said. "Because if we can't stop him, he'll turn this place into a ghost town. No pun intended." She added, realizing how lame it sounded.

"You really are telling the truth." Stefan realized.

"You might want to hide this." She held out the moonstone.

"Maybe another time." Elena said. "So far, that thing's been nothing but trouble."

"Well, you know where I'll be if either of you change your mind." Katherine said. "Not that I can go anywhere." She headed back into the tomb.

Stefan walked Elena home. They got to her front porch. "You okay?" He asked her.

"Not really." Elena said. "I'm not the only one in danger. Caroline, Tyler, and Bonnie are part of breaking that curse, too. Thanks to me, we're all in danger." Stefan embraced her, holding her close. He knew they had to find a way to keep the curse from being broken. Otherwise, there was no way anyone in Mystic Falls would survive.


	48. Secret Missions

Elena was asleep when she heard something. She opened her eyes and got up. She looked around her bedroom, but she didn't see anything, which was weird, because she knew she heard something. She stepped out of her room and looked around. Then she heard someone behind her and turned around. She relaxed, realizing it was Alaric.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." She said. "I heard something." That's when Jenna showed up.

"That was us. Sorry." Jenna said.

"Well, I'm going to head back downstairs." He left.

"I'm really sorry about this." Jenna said.

"It's okay, Jenna. Don't worry about it." Elena told her. Yeah, it was a little awkward walking in on him while he was…indecent, for lack of a better word…but she liked that they had a good relationship.

"I know he's been staying over a lot. Are you sure it's okay?" Jenna asked her.

"Seems like things are good."

"They are extremely good."

"Then I'm extremely okay with that." Elena told her. She went back to her bedroom. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

The next morning, Elena found Stefan and Damon outside her front door. She let them in. "What's going on?" She asked.

"We went to see Katherine." Damon said. She followed them into the kitchen so they could explain what happened.

Flashback: The tomb

They'd found Katherine sitting in the tomb. "Come back to give me more grief about my actions?" She asked them.

"You could've just told us about the sacrifice."

"You would've killed me even if I had." Katherine pointed out. "Besides, I thought I could handle it on my own."

"We're here about the moonstone." Stefan told her.

"I wish it were that easy." Katherine said. "After you guys left the other day…I threw it into the tomb. I've been looking for it."

"You know it's your best chance against Klaus and you just throw it away?" Stefan looked at her in disbelief.

"I was upset and angry. It's not like I planned on losing our best weapon against that monster." Katherine said.

"How do we know this isn't some kind of trap?" Damon asked her, suspicious of her intentions.

"You're on vervain," She pointed out. "In my condition, it'd probably weaken me even more than I already am. I'll keep looking. When you're ready to help, you know where I'll be." End flashback.

"And you guys believe here?" Elena asked them.

"No, but she's right about one thing: we do need to find the moonstone." Damon said.

"We found out there's a way to remove the spell from it so that Klaus won't be able to break it." Stefan said.

"Really?" This got Elena's attention. "Will it even work?"

"I hope so, considering Bonnie's agreed to help us out." Damon said.

"Even if you manage to find the moonstone in that cave, how do we know Katherine isn't going to betray us again?" Elena asked.

"We don't." Stefan said. "At least we can leave the tomb without getting trapped inside."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"What choice do we have?" He pointed out, surprised by her reaction.

"What about Klaus?" Elena shot back.

"We'll find him after we get the moonstone."

"Is that before or after that he kills everyone that I care about, including the two of you?" Elena asked them. Neither one of them had an answer. "I don't care about my life if it means you guys lose yours." She left. She knew she had to find some way to stop this from going down.

Jeremy was headed to the school from the parking lot when he felt the wind pick up. As he got closer to the school, he could see other students running to get inside, papers flying all over the place. He walked over to where Bonnie and Luka were talking.

"What's up with this weather?" Jeremy asked them.

"It's probably global warming." Luka told him. "Anyway, I've gotta go. See you later, Bonnie." He left.

"Bye, Luka." Bonnie said, smiling as he left.

"That guy's a little weird."

"No, he isn't." Bonnie said. Before she could elaborate, her phone buzzed.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked, looking concerned.

"Damon." She looked at him. "Come on." They walked toward the parking lot.

"You know, if we keep cutting school, someone's bound to notice." Jeremy pointed out.

"Not if you compel them." Bonnie countered. Jeremy seemed surprised she'd even suggest it. After all, she wasn't a big fan of them using their vampire abilities unless it was a life or death situation. They got into Bonnie's car and left.

Meanwhile, Elena walked into the Boarding House knowing the guys were out at the moment. Rose walked into the room, still wearing her pajamas. "If I get into another mess like this…" She muttered to herself. Then she noticed Elena. "Oh, it's you."

"Sorry to barge in like this." Elena told her sincerely. "I didn't know you were staying here."

"The guys aren't here, you know." Rose said.

"I know. I came to see you." Elena told her.

"Just give me a minute." Rose said. She left the room to change. When she returned, she was wearing a blue tank top with a black cardigan and jeans.

Elena quickly explained things to her. "It's a bad idea." Rose told her when she was finished.

"No, it's not. From what Stefan told me your friend Slater obviously has more information about Klaus." Elena pointed out. "You and Damon just gave up before you got it."

"Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it." Rose said. She shivered. If Damon hadn't pulled her to the parking garage to heal, she would've died. She'd been grateful he saved her, though she was still cautious around him. After all, it wasn't often she trusted humans.

"There's more to learn. We just have to find a way to learn it." Elena said.

"Why are you coming to me with this?" Rose asked her.

"Because you're the only person I know that can help." Elena explained. "If you really meant what you said about helping me out of this mess back when you kidnapped me…"

"I'm not sure the others would agree with you doing this, though." Rose said, looking concerned.

"We're having a disagreement, okay? They're willing to risk everyone that I love and I'm not."

"They're just trying to protect you."

"So what? My survival means nothing if I lose everyone." Elena said. "Slater has to know something that can help."

"They're right, you are determined. I guess there's no way out of this." Rose sighed. "My car's in the garage. Come on." Elena followed her out of the room.

At the Boarding House, Jeremy and Bonnie met with Stefan and Damon, who had just finished explaining the situation to them. "I think I still have a few charms that Grams left." Bonnie said.

"I wish I could help." Jeremy said. "But if I go in there, I can't get out."

"True, but you'll be the only one outside to catch the moonstone." Bonnie pointed out. "The real problem is Katherine."

"Yeah, she hasn't been feeding. We can't trust that she won't accidentally kill us." Stefan said.

"Unless we're on vervain." Damon pointed out.

"Do you still have your bracelets?" Bonnie asked them.

"Yeah, but Katherine's much older. I don't think those bracelets alone will protect them from her." Jeremy said. "Good thing I picked this up from Care this morning." He set a glass jar down on the table, full of vervain plants.

"She took that from the Sheriff?" Damon asked, surprised.

"She takes a couple stalks from her mom's supply every couple weeks, just in case." Bonnie explained. Sometimes, Caroline's planning came in handy, since they never knew when a new group of vampires would show up. She was also helping Bonnie make a few vervain charms to protect the vampires from being compelled by the Originals.

"Okay, but we still need a way to counter her if she does attack us. After all, she used to be immune to this." Stefan pointed out, pulling a small sprig off the plant.

"I think I have an idea." Bonnie said. "Either of you have anything that belonged to Katherine?"

Meanwhile, Elena and Rose were outside an apartment. Rose had knocked on the door, but no one had answered. "I don't think he's here." Rose said.

"We didn't come all the way out here for nothing." Elena said, moving past her. She opened the door with her strength. They both entered the house. Elena looked around.

"I don't think he's going to be much help." She heard Rose say. She entered the same room she was in. There was a grey body on the floor, with a stake in the heart.

"Sorry." Elena told her.

"Just help me get rid of him." Rose said. "We can look afterward."

About fifteen minutes later, they had taken care of Slater's body. Elena looked around and found a lot of research. "Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his information." Elena said.

"Yeah, probably for helping people like us. The guy was a vampire almanac." Rose explained. "Knowing too much information just beat him in the ass." She opened the curtain, letting sunlight in.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked, knowing sunlight could kill Rose.

"Tempted glass, UV rays can't penetrate." The older vampire explained. "I used to just come here and watch the day."

"You know, once we're done here, I could get you a daylight charm." Elena told her.

"That's if we get out of here alive." Rose pointed out. In spite of herself, she smiled. She hadn't expected to start a friendship with Elena, but it looked like things were headed that way.

After a few more minutes of looking, Elena tried to check the computer, but it was password protected. Then she heard something. Rose was closer to the source of the sound. She opened a door and found a girl inside. Elena entered the room and found the two of them hugging.

"Friend of yours?"

"She was dating him." Rose explained. "I've known her a few months."

Back at the Boarding House, Stefan came back to the room. "This was Katherine's. I found it after she first moved out of town." He handed Bonnie an old frame. There was no picture in it when he'd found it. At the time, he'd assumed she'd taken the photo out and brought it with her.

Bonnie put the frame in the bowl. She did a spell and it started to burn. "How's this supposed to help?" Damon asked.

"I found this spell in my grimore. If we throw these ashes on her, it'll incapacitate Katherine if she does attack." Bonnie explained. "But it'll only work for a couple minutes at a time."

Jeremy noticed she had a nosebleed. She didn't see him looking, but she took care of it.

A few minutes later, the group had finished putting the ashes into small bottles. "Okay, I think that's the last one." Bonnie said, setting it on the table.

"I'll get the flashlights from upstairs." Stefan said.

"And I've got a few stakes in my trunk."

"I'll finish up here before we go." Bonnie said. They left, leaving her with Jeremy.

"I saw what happened earlier. Are you sure you're strong enough to handle her?" He asked. He was really concerned about her.

"I'll be fine."

"I don't know, if it happens again, you could get hurt in there."

"And if I don't help, Elena will die!" Bonnie pointed out. "Look, I have to help them. I'm the only one with powers that can get in and out of there."

"Fine. Just promise me you'll be careful." Jeremy said. He felt like he'd gotten closer to Bonnie over the past few weeks, but he also didn't want to complicate things. After all, she was his sister's best friend. "If anything happens, I don't want to have to explain it to Elena."

"I'll be fine, Jer." Bonnie told him.

Back at Slater's place, Elena was waiting in the living room when Rose and the girl-Alice, she reminded herself-entered. Alice went to the island. "How is she?"

"She's okay, though a little shaken up." Rose told her.

"Is she…"

"No. She's human." Rose said. "She was going out with him for a few months now. I think she wanted him to turn her."

"Really?" Elena frowned. She wondered how long she'd be able to be with Stefan. She would hate to have to turn him.

"Sorry this place is such a mess." Alice said, joining them.

"It's no problem." Elena said. "I'm sorry about Slater."

"It's okay, really." Alice said. "Finding him like that was awful, though. So, what brings you two here?" Rose and Elena looked at each other.

"We were looking for help on something important." Rose told her. "Of course, now our only lead's gone…"

"Maybe not." Elena said. "You know he kept records, didn't you?"

"Of course I did." Alice said. "I helped him organize his information."

"Do you know his password?"

"Yes. Mostly because we share an account on the same computer." Alice told them. "Come on, I'll show you."

They went over to the computer. A few minutes later, Alice had pulled up a lot of information. "That's impressive. You should work for one of those computer companies." Rose said.

"I wish. That'd be awesome." Elena quickly noticed a pattern.

"These are all leads to vampires?"

"Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me." Alice said.

"I don't suppose any of them know anything about protection spells." Elena sighed. She realized there would be only one other way to save everyone.

"What about that one: Cody Webber?" Rose asked. "They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah." That's when Elena made up her mind.

"I could call him." Alice suggested. Elena gave her the phone.

"Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus," Elena said. "The doppelganger is alive and she's ready to surrender."

"What?!" Rose looked surprised. Even Alice seemed stunned.

"Please, just do it." Elena told her, using her compulsion on the girl.

She went into another room. Rose followed her. "What are you doing?"

"There's no other way to counter the spell Klaus wants to break, so I'm getting his attention." Elena said.

"Are you mad? If Klaus finds out about you, he'll find you and he'll kill you." Rose pointed out. Elena looked at her sadly.

"It's either me or my family. I know what my choice is."

"There has to be another way to save…"

"There isn't, okay? I don't care if I die again as long as everyone else I love gets to live." Elena told her. She left the room.

Outside, the group met outside the church ruins. "Sorry I'm late. I left the grimore at home this morning." Bonnie told them.

"Let's just get this over with." Stefan said. They group headed inside. Damon's phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Promise that you won't get angry with me." He heard Rose say on the other end of the line.

"What happened?" Damon asked, concerned.

"I need you to get to Richmond." She told him. "I'm afraid something's come up."

The group made it to the tomb. "Both of you, be careful." Jeremy told them.

"We'll be fine, Jeremy." Bonnie told him.

"I see you've brought back up." The group turned. Katherine was standing in the doorway.

"We can handle this." Stefan said, turning to Jeremy. "Let us know when Damon shows up." Jeremy nodded. Then, Bonnie and Stefan entered the tomb, leaving Jeremy outside.

"Are you sure this is where you threw it?" Bonnie asked Katherine a few minutes later.

"I never forget a location."

"Okay, we better start looking."

Back at Slater's, Elena was waiting for the guys to show up when Damon showed up. "What are you…" She turned to Rose. "You called him."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go through with it." Rose told her.

"Are you insane?" Damon asked. "Going on a suicide mission? I thought you were better than this."

"You guys keep trying to save me all the time. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't want to be saved?" Elena told him. "I hate what I am, and if I'm going to go out anyway, it may as well be trying to prevent Klaus from killing the rest of you."

"You are a lot of things, Elena, but I never thought you of all people would just give up." Damon pointed out. "The Elena I know…"

"What do you even know about me?" Elena asked. "From day one, all you've done is judge me. Sure, we might be friends, but you've made it clear that if I even slip up on accident, you'd be the one to put a stake through my heart!" Damon seemed surprised that she would even think that. Sure, maybe in the earlier days, he would've, but things were different now.

"Guess you don't know me, either." He said. "How do you think this will effect my brother? Or the others?"

"It doesn't matter. We're all marked for death anyway." Elena pointed out.

"It's no use, she's given up." Rose told him.

"Well, there's no way we're letting her do this. I might need your help."

"Don't worry about me, I've gotten good at fighting over the years." She told him.

In the tomb, the group was still searching. Finally, Stefan caught a flicker of something with his flashlight. "I think I found it."

Bonnie walked over to his side. Sure enough, it was sitting on the ground, right near the corner of the wall. "Okay, be careful. We need to get it out in one piece." She glanced over toward the opposite end where Katherine was standing. She wasn't looking so good.

"Might want to make it fast, I don't think she can hold back much longer." Bonnie told him.

"No problem." Stefan managed to get the rock out and picked it up. That's when Katherine rushed toward him. Bonnie quickly pulled out a vial of the ash from her pocket and threw them at her. Katherine fell to the ground instantly. Then Bonnie grabbed Stefan's free hand and they started running toward the entrance as fast as they could.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Bonnie said as they got closer to the tomb's entrance. Jeremy was still outside when he heard them running. Suddenly, Stefan tripped. The moonstone got thrown out the entrance, but Jeremy caught it.

"Stefan, come on! Get up!" Bonnie said. She helped him back to his feet and they headed out of the tomb.

"You guys okay?" Jeremy asked.

"We will be. Now let's get outside."

Once they were out of the ruins, they stopped to rest. "You have the moonstone, right?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes." Jeremy said, handing it to her.

"Now we just have to find the right spell." Bonnie said. She turned to Stefan. "You okay? You were hurt back there."

"I'll be fine." Stefan told her. Jeremy frowned.

"You're bleeding." He said. Stefan and Bonnie looked at him. Stefan sat down and rolled up the leg of his jeans. Jeremy was right, his knee was bleeding. He knew it must've been when he tripped.

"I'll get him home." Bonnie told Jeremy. "Tell me if you hear anything from Elena."

"Call me as soon as you get him there. There's something I wanted to talk to you about." Jeremy said.

Back at Slater's apartment, Elena was waiting on the couch. "Elena, we have to go."

"I told you already, I have no choice."

"Yes, you do." Before Rose could get any further, a group of vampires arrived.

"We're here for the doppelganger." Elena got up, though she felt scared. She hadn't expected an entire group of them. Rose quickly moved in front of her. Damon came up next to her.

Then, to the entire group's surprise, one of the vampires suddenly fell to the floor, dead. They looked at each other, shocked. Then they saw Elijah.

"I thought he was…" Rose began.

"So did I." Elena said. Damon nodded. While who appeared to be the leader of the vampire group was speaking to Elijah, Rose sped out of the house. Afterward, he killed the remaining vampires, then left. Elena and Damon looked at each other and realized, in their panic, they were still holding each other. They immediately let go.

"Let's get out of here." Damon said. Elena nodded, still shaken.

A few hours later, Bonnie was outside the Boarding House. She called Jeremy. "How are things going by you?"

"Everything's quiet." Jeremy told her. "Still, you guys took a huge risk."

"Like we had much of a choice." Bonnie pointed out.

"Just be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt because of all this." Jeremy said. Bonnie didn't respond. "Bonnie? You still there?"

"Look, Jeremy, I appreciate the concern, but…you can't feel that way about me."

"Don't tell me you haven't felt anything recently." He pointed out. "I know this isn't one-sided. If your powers hadn't kicked in, you would have died."

"I can't do this right now, Jeremy. I'm sorry." The line went dead. Jeremy sighed, setting his phone on the nightstand.

Outside, Damon and Elena were on the porch. "Thanks for bringing me home."

"Well, you ride left you. I didn't want to leave you stranded." Damon pointed out.

"She was just scared. She didn't mean to run." Elena said. "And honestly, I don't blame her. Seeing Elijah alive again…" She frowned. "How the heck is he alive, anyway?"

"No idea. Guess there's more to this Original vampire stuff than we know." Damon shrugged. She started to head inside, but he caught her arm. "What you did today was incredibly stupid."

"I'm aware of that, Damon." Elena said. "But I still can't go through with your plan. Everyone we know could be killed."

"So you think suicide is the answer?"

"No, but it's my fault you're all in this mess." Elena pointed out. "Besides, I don't question why you and everyone else try so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of you." She went inside.

"Bad day?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." She headed up to her room.


End file.
